Demon Ring
by Ru-chan
Summary: Very AU. RyuichiTatsuha. When a lonely young painter finds a ring, he has no idea what secrets it holds for its bearer.
1. Prologue

Ru: Here I am starting a new fic, when I have to write chapter three of my original...Something is wrong with me.  
Rui: I've been telling you that, but you never listen.  
Ru: You insult me because you're my kage (shadow). I don't really take you seriously.  
Rui: You should. Idiot.  
Ru: *ignores her* Anyway...this is an AU. Hell...the characters are going to be OOC at some points and the character's ages and pasts have been changed. It's an AU. I'm trying. I am. Please be gentle. This is my first gravi fic. It features the Ryu/Tatsu pairing, so if shounen ai/yaoi bothers you, you shouldn't be reading this or Gravitation for that matter. What's wrong with you?  
Disclaimer: Gravitation and its characters aren't mine, unless I forgot the years I spent in Japan creating this series. Since it's less than likely that the amnesia was that bad, I obviously don't own it. I do own the story though. I wrote it, after all.  
...  
  
Demon Ring  
Prologue  
~  
  
The finished painting was a sight to behold. Tatsuha almost couldn't believe that he had created it. The image was of a serene lake surrounded by forest, soft sunlight glinting off its calm waters. The scenery was lush, beautiful, and completely at odds with what was happening. A young boy, his amber eyes overflowing with emotion, was being slowly but surely pulled below the surface by a hand at his neck. His eyes were captivating in their beauty, but incredibly sad as he was slowly pulled into the depths of the lake to drown.  
  
Tatsuha knew exactly what had inspired this particular painting.  
  
Eiri and Tatsuha had returned to their family house in Kyoto to visit their father. The visit had not gone well. Their father had fought with both Eiri and Tatsuha in turn, trying to persuade them to come back to Kyoto. Tatsuha had refused, because he had created a life for himself in Tokyo, as a painter. It had taken him years to decide what he wanted to do with his life and art had always called to him. Finally, he had left home, and Touma, his sister's husband, had found him a good apartment in Tokyo, where he painted. Gradually he had made a name for himself and was living comfortably off the money he was making as an artist. Now his father had practically demanded that he return home and accept the responsibility of the family trade, because Eiri had refused it. Tatsuha was unwilling to give up his passion. His brother was unwilling to accept the burden. Eiri hadn't given a reason for his refusal and his eyes were shuttered and cold, but Tatsuha had seen a glimmer of...something in his brother's eyes, and it had filled him with unspeakable sorrow. When he had returned to Tokyo, Tatsuha felt as if he were drowning in it, and the only relief he had available was to paint.  
  
Now, looking over the result, his only thought was that he hoped his brother would see the painting and understand what it meant.  
  
When Tatsuha had first moved out of his family home, things had been different. His brother was not so cold and his sister's smile was always real. Then, when Eiri had returned from America, everything had changed. His brother, whose innocence and joy had made him seem to be lit by sunlight, was now icy and withdrawn, freezing anyone who tried to approach him with his coldness. Mika, who had always been ready to smile and laugh away the burden of her job and her position as sole woman of the family, now seemed to be almost crushed by it. Her easy cheerfulness was gone, extinguished with Eiri's innocence and joy, and Tatsuha felt that the siblings he had grown up with were dead, and had been replaced by people he did not know.   
  
They still spoke, but it was not the same easy conversation they had had before. It hurt to hear his brother's voice turned so cold, and it was painful to hear that the laughter in his sister's voice had died.   
  
When his older brother asked to be called Yuki and dispensed with his family's name, the pain grew fiercer inside of Tatsuha's heart. It was as if Eiri wanted to forget his past and create a new life for himself. A life, Tatsuha thought, that was based on something incredibly painful to his brother.   
  
Neither his brother nor his sister had told Tatsuha what had happened to bring about the changes in them. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. What he did know was that he trusted his siblings and he loved them, no matter what happened. So, Tatsuha continued to paint, allowing himself to express through his art, the emotions he was unable to express through his speech, maintaining a desperate hope that something or someone would come to save his brother from himself, and that someday, maybe, someone would save Tatsuha from his own isolation.  
...  
Ru: It sucked didn't it? I know it did. I'm horrible. I know I am.  
Rui: Will you stop whining about your lack of writing ability if you get reviews?  
Ru: Who would review this?!  
Rui: *looks at readers* If any of you read this then please review. She's giving me a headache. 


	2. Chapter 1

Ru: Here I am again!  
Rui: *glares* You're too loud idiot.  
Ru: *pouts* Mou! What kind of muse are you?  
Rui: *glare intensifies* I am not your muse. I'm your shadow.  
Ru: Despite all appearances, I did know that. You're my shadow. It's just your unluckiness that accounts for the fact that you are the inspiration for some of my original characters.  
Rui: *stares at Ru*  
Ru: *blinks innocently*  
Rui: *sigh* Whatever.  
Ru: *sweatdrop* Hai...  
Rui: Just get on with it.  
Disclaimer: I own Gravitation and all its characters, so I'm free to do whatever I want to them. *sees lawyers approaching with large threatening piles of paper and expressions that look too happy* I mean...*cough* I do not own Gravitation or any of its characters. Don't bother suing me because I have no money. *sees lawyers turn away with disappointed looks on their faces* Please do not steal this story though. It's mine.  
...  
  
Demon Ring  
Chapter 1  
~  
  
Tatsuha sighed to himself as he pressed the buzzer on the side of the door of Eiri's apartment. Mika had called him the day before and had asked him to check up on their brother to make sure he wasn't dead or in need of medical attention. She was worried about him, because no one had heard from Eiri in a week, but was supposedly unable to visit him due to a lunch meeting with some business client of Tohma's.   
  
Tatsuha thought she was trying to avoid Eiri since they had fought the last time they spoke to one another.  
  
His brother wasn't answering the door, so Tatsuha resorted to pressing the buzzer repeatedly in the hopes of annoying Eiri into opening it. There was no doubt in his mind that his brother knew that one of his siblings was at the door and was hoping he'd get discouraged and go away. Tatsuha was too stubborn for that to work. Soon the door of the apartment was thrown open, and a very irate Eiri stood framed in the doorway, aiming an icy glare at his younger brother.  
  
"What the hell do you want?!" Tatsuha smiled cheerfully up at his brother.  
  
"Ohayo aniki!" He exclaimed. "I just came by to see how you were doing." Tatsuha calmly pushed past Eiri and entered his apartment. With a slight expression of distaste he moved to the sliding door leading to the balcony and opened it, sighing as fresh air entered the previously stuffy apartment. Grimacing, he proceeded through the other rooms of the apartment, opening any windows he could find. Finally he returned to the living room where Eiri was standing impatiently, a cigarette dangling from his lips and an open can of beer in his hand.  
  
"Did you have any reason for coming here other than to annoy me and open all my windows?" He asked sarcastically, and Tatsuha groaned inwardly at the cold expression on his face, carefully maintaining the semblance of a bright smile on his own.  
  
"Do I need a reason for visiting my brother?" He asked innocently and proceeded to raid Eiri's refridgerator. Happy smile firmly in place, Tatsuha settled down on the living room couch and proceeded to stare intently at his brother, taking in his slightly ragged appearance.  
  
"Is there something very fascinating about my body that you would like to share?" Eiri's tone was icy, but Tatsuha seemed unaffected by his harshness.   
  
"You've changed aniki." He said simply and Eiri's eyes widened fractionally behind his glasses. "I'm not sure what it is, but something is different about you. You actually look healthier than the last time I saw you and you aren't as...tense." He looked up into his brother's eyes. "Did something happen?" To Tatsuha's surprise Eiri actually looked slightly flustered.  
  
"I-I just..." He was cut off by the sound of the buzzer. Before Eiri could blink Tatsuha was off the couch and was opening the door to be greeted by...  
  
A short pink haired boy.  
  
"Yuki?" The boy asked in a confused tone. "When did you dye your hair?" Tatsuha stared at him for a moment before his face broke out into a bright smile which seemed to confuse the boy even more.  
  
"Aniki's in the living room." He said happily. "I'm his younger brother Tatsuha." The confusion on the other's face vanished to be replaced by a smile whose brightness rivaled Tatsuha's own. "And you are...?"  
  
"Shuichi! Shindou Shuichi!" The boy replied and Tatsuha let him push forward enough so that he could lean around him to look happily at the very annoyed Eiri standing in the middle of his living room. "Ne Yuki! You never said you had a brother!" Eiri's response was another dark glare which intensified as Shuichi practically skipped up to him and planted a soft kiss on his mouth.   
  
Tatsuha's eyes went wide with shock and his brother's face made a valient attempt to match the colour of Shuichi's hair.  
  
"Baka!" Eiri furiously shoved Shuichi away from him, his face flaming. Tatsuha was struck by how easily Shuichi had managed to break through his brother's cold facade and shatter his iron control. He felt a genuine smile bloom on his face. Eiri had been keeping a very important secret from him.  
  
"Yuki!" The pink haired boy whined. "Aren't you happy to see me? I came back early from work to be with you!" He pouted cutely and Tatsuha's smile widened at the slightly bewildered look on his brother's face. He couldn't resist.  
  
"Aniki!" Eiri's eyes snapped to his face. "Shuichi said you never told him about me! Ne...are you ashamed of your family?" He laughed inwardly at the look on Eiri's face and continued plaintively. "So you are ashamed of me?! I feel so hurt!"   
  
"Yuuuuukiiiii!" Shuichi whined.  
  
"Aniki!" Tatsuha wailed. His brother's eyes darted between the two of them for a moment before an extremely annoyed expression spread over his face.  
  
"Out!" He snapped suddenly and both boys stared at him, slightly shocked by his angry outburst. "Get out! Both of you! You're giving me a headache!" Eiri punctuated his words by shoving both Shuichi and Tatsuha into the hallway outside the apartment and slamming the door, returning to whatever he was doing before either of them arrived. Shuichi and Tatsuha both gazed mournfully at the closed door for a moment before Tatsuha broke the silence.  
  
"So...since I know nothing about you other than the fact that you're apparently aniki's lover...how about we go for coffee or something and talk?" Shuichi nodded at him and both boys set off for the nearest coffee shop.  
  
Ten minutes later, Tatsuha and Shuichi were sitting in a small cafe, drinking from steaming mugs of coffee.  
  
"So how long have you known my brother?" Tatsuha asked calmly. Shuichi sipped at his drink before replying.  
  
"About three weeks." His eyes took on a faraway look. "I dropped some of my lyrics in the park. He read them and told me I had no talent." Shuichi realized Tatsuha was staring at him and smiled slightly. "I'm a singer in a band. Anyway, he pretty much crushed my ego completely, and I should have been furious with him...but part of me couldn't get over how cool he was, even when he was being so mean." He grinned. "A few days later I jumped in front of his car. I moved into his apartment less than a week after that." He took another sip of his coffee. "It hasn't been easy, but I wouldn't trade the time I've had with him for anything..." Tatsuha stared thoughtfully at the tender expression on Shuichi's face.  
  
"Shuichi..." He said softly, and the pink haired vocalist's eyes met his briefly. "Do you love him?" Shuichi frowned and was silent for a moment before replying.  
  
"I think I might." He whispered and suddenly leaped to his feet, his voice rising in volume. "Let's go shopping!" At Tatsuha's stunned look he grinned widely. "I don't think Yuki will let us back into his apartment for a while so we might as well do something ne?" Tatsuha nodded and they quickly paid for their drinks, Shuichi practically dragging the shell shocked painter out the door.  
  
It was three hours later as they were walking down a street that Shuichi suddenly started pointing excitedly at something on the other side.  
  
"Ne Tatsuha, let's go in there! I love looking through those old stores!" Tatsuha blinked at the sign that dubbed the aforementioned store as an antique shop and smiled at the shorter boy.  
  
"Sure. These places usually have some interesting stuff." Shuichi smiled brightly and ran across the street, Tatsuha following at a more sedate pace.  
  
The shelves of the store were overflowing with various items, many of which Tatsuha could not even identify. Shuichi had wandered over to the other side of the shop and Tatsuha suspected, from the sounds that drifted over to him, that he had discovered the store's collection of instruments. As for himself, Tatsuha was content to browse casually, stopping briefly to examine anything he found remotely interesting.  
  
It was when he was looking at what seemed to be a collection of wooden figurines that something behind them caught the light and glittered metallically. Carefully, Tatsuha pushed the statues aside to find a small golden ring inlaid with a dark red stone whose colour reminded him faintly of blood. If he squinted, Tatsuha could make out some sort of writing engraved on the inside of the ring. It did not look like any language he recognized. For some reason, Tatsuha found himself fascinated with the ring. It was not long before he had bought it, and he and Shuichi were on their way back to Eiri's apartment.  
  
After securing a promise that the singer would make Eiri eat something, Tatsuha proceeded back to his own apartment. Sighing, he entered his living room and sprawled onto his couch, one arm slung lazily over his head. He was exhausted, but he was happy. His brother had found someone who was able to break through the walls he had built around himself. Shuichi was just what Eiri needed and, Tatsuha smiled to himself, his brother had tried to hide him from the family. He wondered whether he should tell Mika...  
  
Something was sticking into his back. Tatsuha tugged the bottom of his jacket out from under him and searched through his pockets. He pulled out the package from the antique shop and looked at it for a moment. Why had he bought the ring? He had never been very interested in jewelry before. In retrospect, the ring wasn't even the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, and yet...Tatsuha was beginnning to feel vaguely disturbed. With a growing sense of disquiet he opened the small box the shop owner had parceled it in.  
  
When he held it in his palm, the ring glinted innocently in the soft light of the apartment. It looked just as he had remembered it. The ring really wasn't exceptionally beautful, but somehow Tatsuha felt an undeniable attraction to it. It was almost as if the ring were silently calling to him, beckoning him to do something.  
  
Suddenly inspired, Tatsuha grabbed a notebook from the table by the sofa and flipped to a blank page. Diligently, he copied out the strange words that were written on the ring's surface. When he was finished, he read it over carefully. He could probably say it out loud, if the words were written phonetically. Carefully, Tatsuha recited what he had written, the strange, almost fluid syllables flowing from his tongue.   
  
When he finished, he stared at the ring sitting innocuously on the table. Nothing was happening. After a while he gave a frustrated sigh and got to his feet, heading towards the kitchen to make some tea.   
  
When he came back holding a steaming cup, he nearly dropped it. Standing in his living room dressed in tight black pants and a white poet shirt was the most beautiful man Tatsuha had ever seen.  
  
"Hi!" He exclaimed happily. "I'm Sakuma Ryuichi! Nice to meet you!"  
  
...  
Ohayo: Good morning.  
Aniki: Older brother. I think this is what Tatsuha uses to refer to Eiri. Forgive me if I'm wrong.  
  
Ru: Chapter One finished! Hopefully people will review me again. *smile* 11 reviews...more than all my other fics combined...  
Rui: *glares* Do I have to do this?  
Ru: *smile freezes* Yes.  
Rui: Ru-chan would like to thank Madiha, nyao, avihenda, Cloudy daze, Crimson Firefly, Sachiko, Emily Tseng, boyiboboyibobobo, T, kensuyoko, and random reader for reviewing the prologue.  
Ru: That wasn't so hard was it?  
Rui: *takes out ofuda* Yes it was.  
Ru: You can't kill me! I created you!  
Rui: Whatever. *inches towards review button*  
Ru: What are you doing?!  
Rui: I'm going to flame you because this sucked.  
Ru: *glares* Shut up! I'm not going to listen to your negative comments!  
Rui: That won't stop me from making them!  
Ru: I can't hear you! *covers ears with hands* LALALALALALALALALA!  
Rui: Idiot. You're giving me a headache!  
Ru: GOOD!  
Rui: I hope people flame you!  
Ru: *cries* Why must you always destroy my self esteem?  
Rui: Because it's fun.  
Ru: *glares* I'm glad my suffering is appealing to you.  
Rui: *smile* So am I. I'll make a bet with you.  
Ru: A bet?  
Rui: I bet people won't review this...thing.  
Ru: What do I get if they do?  
Rui: *shrugs* I'm a fictional character. You'll get the satisfaction of knowing that I was wrong.  
Ru: Oh. Ok. Please review everyone! I want to make my shadow eat her words! 


	3. Chapter 2

Ru: It has been a very very long time. I apologize, but my computer crashed and I lost everything! *cries* All my work! Gone! *dies*  
  
Rui: *pokes Ru's body with her foot* Dead? *shrugs* Whatever.  
  
Ru: *looks up* I hate you.  
  
Rui: *smirk* I know.  
  
Ru: You don't seem to care.  
  
Rui: *blank look* Were you expecting me to?  
  
Ru: *glare* Everyone else has shadows or separate personalities who are at least slightly supportive of them. I get you! Ms. I'm such a cold bitch that my only friend decided I wasn't worth the trouble!  
  
Rui: *glare* You don't know anything about me!  
  
Ru: I know everything! We're part of the same person!  
  
Rui: *pulls out ofuda* I'm going to kill you!  
  
Ru: *pulls out keyboard* Try it!  
  
Rui: I'm going to *pause* ofuda you? I'm not sure of the verb...^_^;;;  
  
Ru: *sweatdrop* I scored 790 on the verbal section of the SAT and you don't know your verbs?  
  
Rui: *glare* Why don't you come up with one!  
  
Ru: Anou...etou...^_^;;;  
  
Rui: *sweatdrop*  
  
Ru: ehehehe...  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or its characters though I wish I did...I'm a poor college student so suing me will get you nowhere fast.   
  
Warnings: I guarantee there will be OOC, just because I'm attempting a different approach to the characters and this is an AU. Since it's Gravitation, expect shounen ai/yaoi. The main pairing is Ryuichi/Tatsuha, with mentions of Yuki/Shuichi. If you don't like it then don't read it. Flame me because of it and you're just making yourself look bad.  
  
...  
  
Demon Ring  
  
Chapter 2  
  
~   
  
Tatsuha sighed as he unlocked the door to his apartment. The setup for the art show had taken longer than he expected, and the sky was almost completely dark. He grimaced slightly and rubbed his forehead tiredly. What he needed was something to eat and some sleep. It had been a long day. As the door swung open, however, Tatsuha realized that sleep would not come as soon as he'd like it to.  
  
The front hall of the apartment was shadowed, the only light filtering in from the living room. Standing, seemingly framed by the faint glow, Ryuichi watched Tatsuha, his incredibly cold eyes narrowed slightly in scrutiny of the painter's form. Wordlessly they stared at each other for a long moment, before Tatsuha turned to close the door behind him.  
  
"You were gone a long time." Ryuichi said softly. Tatsuha removed his shoes and hung up his jacket before replying.  
  
"You care?" Ryuichi's quiet laughter seemed very loud in the tense silence.  
  
"Of course not." He smirked and Tatsuha found himself comparing the expression to his brother's. "I wanted to use the car." Inwardly the young painter sighed as he threw the keys to Ryuichi before moving to the kitchen. Opening one of the cupboards, he pulled out a package of instant ramen and, after filling a saucepan with water, turned on the stove and waited for the water to boil.  
  
"Your sister called again." Tatsuha started at the sound of Ryuichi's voice, but did not turn to face him. The demon regarded Tatsuha calmly for a moment before opening the fridge and pulling out a can of soda before sitting at the kitchen table.  
  
"I thought you wanted to go out?" Tatsuha's voice was even. "I didn't expect you to stay once I gave you the keys." Ryuichi smirked again and raised the can slightly.  
  
"I'm not one for doing what anyone expects of me." A pause. "Is watching water boil really that interesting?" Tatsuha didn't reply and Ryuichi's smirk widened slightly as he stood up and moved so he was positioned directly behind the dark haired boy. Slowly, Ryuichi slid his arms around Tatsuha's waist, delighting in how the young painter's body tensed against him as he rested his chin on the other's shoulder.  
  
"Let me go." The words were cold, but Ryuichi could make out a quiet note of desperation in Tatsuha's voice. He liked that. It was amusing.  
  
"Do you really want me to?" Ryuichi's voice in Tatsuha's ear was mocking. "You never did tell me what you wanted from me...Master." The sarcastic emphasis on the last word made Tatsuha wince slightly.  
  
"I asked you not to call me that."  
  
"Why not?" The demon's words had a harsh bite to them. "That's what you are. What the ring made you. As long as you hold it I can never leave you." His arms tightened around the young painter's waist. "Isn't that what you wanted? Your very own demon to obey only you?" Tatsuha shook his head and deftly removed Ryuichi's arms from around his waist. Gently he pushed Ryuichi away, freeing up more space between them.  
  
"You should go do whatever you wanted to use the car for." Tatsuha said quietly. Ryuichi studied him carefully for a moment before answering.  
  
"Yes I should." His eyes were cold. "It's getting late." With that, he walked out of the kitchen, never looking back. Soon, Tatsuha heard the front door open, and the quiet click as it closed.  
  
It had been about a month since Ryuichi had appeared from inside the ring. Since then, Tatsuha sighed and ran a tired hand through his hair, the demon had gone from being extremely hyper and childish to being very cold and reserved. When Ryuichi was in the latter mood the apartment always had a strained atmoshphere. The tension was so thick it could almost be cut with a knife.  
  
That would not have been so bad, Tatsuha decided, if it weren't for the fact that this Ryuichi seemed to hate him. Every meeting with him was a chance for the demon to torment him.  
  
The water was boiling. Tatsuha dumped the noodles into the pan and sat back against the kitchen counter, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. Vaguely, he thought about calling Mika, but rejected the idea, deciding that she probably wanted to talk about their father, Kyoto, and the possibility of him going there. Tatsuha did not want to go back to the capital. He especially did not want to go back so that he could argue with his father over his decision to stay in Tokyo. It just wasn't worth the trouble.  
  
When the noodles were done, Tatsuha ate quickly, washing his dishes in the sink and leaving them to dry on the counter. Stretching, he proceeded to the living room and took out his easel. He paused, staring at the painting that he had done two days before.  
  
It was Ryuichi. The other one. The hyper and childish one who didn't seem to hate him. It had been one of the rare moments he would sit still, his pink bunny clutched close to his body with both arms. The sunlight had slanted through the window to rest against his hair just so, and the scene had been beautiful, innocent, and completely perfect. Tatsuha smiled to himself as he remembered his desperate dash for his art supplies. It had taken surprisingly little time to finish the painting, and Ryuichi had stayed surprisingly still until he had finished.  
  
The result had been good, but Tatsuha wasn't certain he'd ever use the painting in one of his shows. It made him feel slightly uneasy, because he wasn't completely sure why he had wanted to paint it. On a purely aesthetic level the painting was completely understandable, but none of Tatsuha's works had ever been done for their physical beauty alone. This portrait was no exception, but the emotions he felt when he looked at it were confusing.  
  
'I don't know what I meant to say.' Tatsuha realized and his frown deepened. 'This is the first time I haven't understood my own intentions.' Frustrated, he carefully covered the painting and placed it in against the wall with all of his other finished pieces. Then, propping up a blank canvas against the easel, Tatsuha sat down in front of it, his eyes staring blankly.  
  
Almost of its own volition, his hand grasped a pencil and rose to meet the untouched surface of the canvas. Tatsuha was silent as he worked, and the sound of the pencil dragging over the canvas was loud in the stillness of the apartment.  
  
When the sketch was completed, Tatsuha took his brush in hand, and, dipping it into paint, proceeded to spread a thin coating of the pigment over the white canvas. Throughout it all he was silent. His eyes were distant, but something akin to euphoria was evident in his features, in the subtle smile on his lips. It was obvious to anyone who could see him that Tatsuha lived and breathed his art, and it was as much a part of him as each of his limbs.  
  
When Tatsuha painted it was as if he went into a trance. The canvas in front of his seemed to grow and expand until it was all that he could see. His art became his world. Everything that happened around him was lost in a whirling abyss of colour, emotion, and release.  
  
It was for that reason that Tatsuha did not notice the turning of a key in the lock or the sound of the front door as it opened. He did not notice the quiet footsteps that entered the apartment or the click of the that same door as it closed and locked. Lost in a haze of creativity, Tatsuha did not notice Ryuichi walk into the living room, did not notice him pause to watch him work, did not notice him approach, and did not notice him stop beside him.  
  
Ryuichi's eyes took in the image being created on the canvas. It was him. Probably him, anyway. It was slightly difficult to tell, because Tatsuha hadn't added much colour to the figure's face and hair yet, and he had omitted to draw his eyes, choosing to leave the area shadowed. What he had drawn resembled Ryuichi very closely though, and the demon wondered how he had missed the time the boy had undoubtedly spent staring at his mouth.  
  
His eyes widened as he took in the rest of the unfinished painting. The figure's body was male, he felt slightly relieved over that fact, and was facing almost completely away, his head turned over his shoulder. The figure cut off at the waist, and his skin was pale, slightly tanned, and unblemished, its colour seeming to blend into the stark whiteness of the canvas.   
  
The truly amazing feature of the painting, however, were the two wings that burst outwards from the figure's back. Both were enormous, feathered, beautiful, and almost majestic. One, curved almost protectively over the figure's head, was black and the other, stretched outwards to its full length and radiating power, was pure white.   
  
The wings were a beautiful contradiction. The painting was a beautiful contradiction. Ryuichi hadn't realized that Tatsuha actually had talent. He had known that the boy was successful, but had seen so many whose achievements had outweighed their real skill. The few he had seen whose talents were real had been more conscious of their abilities, choosing to almost show them off. Despite what he would have expected, Tatsuha was modest about his talent, choosing to focus on other matters.  
  
It wasn't as if Ryuichi could think about the boy focusing on anything about himself though. It occurred to him that he knew next to nothing about Tatsuha and what he did know hadn't been told to him. His sister called often. Too often. It became slightly tedious to answer the phone when he was almost certain who was calling. She left messages about the painter's father, his health, his demands that one of his sons return to Kyoto. Tatsuha, Ryuichi's eyes drifted from the painting to the painter, had apparently defied the old man repeatedly and now refused to even go back to visit.  
  
It was likely he wasn't returning his sister's calls either.  
  
Tatsuha's shaky relationship with his family was not Ryuichi's concern. Now, while the painter was unaware of his scrutiny, The demon studied the painter's face calmly, his gaze thoughtful.   
  
Tatsuha was very pretty. Especially now, when his eyes were distant and he was overtaken by the passion he had for his art. The fine dark eyes, framed beautifully by long inky lashes, were glazed with his almost crazed and feverish desire to create, to give shape to his thoughts and feelings. The young painter preferred to work in the dark, the only light in the room coming from the kitchen and the streetlamp outside. The dim lighting highlighted Tatsuha's dark hair and pale skin, making him look almost as inhuman as Ryuichi himself.  
  
The painter seemed almost ethereal like this. His complete obliviousness to his surroundings only heightened the impression, as Tatsuha appeared to be under the influence of a magic spell.  
  
Whenever Ryuichi saw him like this, he always thought the boy was extraordinarily beautiful. Each time he knew that Tatsuha was something he would have wanted, would have liked to possess, were it not for the fact that the boy inspired a gut-wrenching hatred in him that almost matched the intensity of the loathing he held for all the previous owners of the ring.   
  
He hated Tatsuha. Hated him with every fibre of his being. Had hated him ever since the boy had stared at him with impossibly wide eyes and told him that he wanted Ryuichi to stay with him. Hated him even though Tatsuha had never done anything to harm him. Hated him even though his childish side practically adored the pretty boy.  
  
Ryuichi could never feel anything but hate for someone who made him their prisoner.  
  
...  
  
Ru: And that was chapter 2! ^_^  
  
Rui: Finally.  
  
Ru: Hey! I did lose everything I had previously done for all my fics. Can you blame me?!  
  
Rui: Yes.  
  
Ru: T_T  
  
Rui: Anyway...this wasn't horrible.  
  
Ru: O_O  
  
Rui: What?  
  
Ru: You...you...you didn't insult me horribly! It's a miracle! Pigs must be flying! Cows must be jumping over the moon!  
  
Rui: Pigs ~cannot~ fly. You're being stu...*a pig flies by*...pid...T_T  
  
Ru: O_O What time is it?  
  
Rui: 1:06 of the am.  
  
Ru: Do I want to proofread now?  
  
Rui: Not bloody likely.  
  
Ru: Ok then...please review! I need support and criticism. This is not a rape fic. Anything will be mostly consensual.  
  
Rui: Mostly?  
  
Ru: Well you know about the *whisper whisper*  
  
Rui: Yes...well...*cough* Ryuichi and Tatsuha will actually end up together. This won't end sadly.  
  
Ru: I hate unhappy endings! They make me more depressed than usual.  
  
Rui: That being said...don't yell at me.  
  
Ru: You didn't write this. And you're not my muse.  
  
Rui: *evil smile* Enter the angry villagers...  
  
Ru: NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! *runs* 


	4. Chapter 3

Ru: I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I have so much work that it's been impossible to sit down at the computer to write this. *clasps hands together* Forgive me?  
  
Rui: No.  
  
Ru: *glares* Shut up idiot. I wasn't talking to you.  
  
Rui: No...you were talking to all the people out there who are reading this horrible thing you're writing...wait...trying to write...you can't even write this can you?  
  
Ru: *glares viciously* Easy for you to say! You don't do anything except eat, sleep, and throw ofuda around!  
  
Rui: Don't forget that I insult you too.  
  
Ru: T_T  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or any of its characters. If I did, well...I wouldn't be writing fanfiction. I'd be making money off my wonderful creation somewhere where the weather doesn't vary between 30 above and 30 below.*pause* I love this country.  
  
Warnings: Other than the obvious yaoi/shounen ai warning (didn't the last chapter clue you in?) I have to tell you that the characters will be OOC. Probably Ryuichi more than anyone because I can't write hyper people for my life. It just somehow seems very alien to me. Therefore...don't flame me if you don't like Ryu-chan in this chapter. I'm not very good at it. Actually, don't flame me at all unless you have no problem being laughed at.  
  
...  
  
Demon Ring  
  
Chapter 3  
  
~  
  
Mika glared impatiently at the apartment's closed door. It had been almost a month and Tatsuha had yet to return a single one of her calls. Their father had been asking more and more questions about both her siblings, and Mika had been hard pressed to come up with excuses to prevent him from calling them himself.  
  
Tatsuha wasn't answering the door. Mika irritably shoved hair out of her eyes and pressed the buzzer again. When no response seemed forthcoming she pounded on the door with her fist.  
  
"Open the door Tatsuha! I've been calling you for weeks damnit! I'm not leaving until you answer me!" Mika could feel her tenuous hold on her temper slipping rapidly and raised her hand to beat the door into oblivion, when it opened, revealing a beautiful, annoyed looking, male, stranger. "Who the hell are you?!"  
  
"Tatsuha isn't home." He said cooly, a smirk playing on his lips. Mika's eyes narrowed dangerously in response, her hand clencing into a fist at her hip.  
  
"When will he be back?" She asked acidly and her eyes were icy.  
  
  
  
"I don't know and I honestly don't care." The stranger's smirk widened and Mika twitched, resisting the urge to erase the smug expression from his face with her fist. "You're his sister aren't you? The one who keeps calling."  
  
"My name is Seguchi Mika." Her voice could have cut glass. "You still haven't told me who you are." The man stared back at her calmly, the smirk everpresent.   
  
He was older than Tatsuha, Mika decided. Probably older than Eiri as well. The way he carried himself spoke of experience, and experience didn't usually come without age. Unless...Mika's eyes narrowed further. Just what was this man to Tatsuha?  
  
"Sakuma Ryuichi." The measured response cut through her train of thought. Their gazes met and held, both cooly challenging each other by maintaining eye contact.  
  
Mika was the first to blink, but she wasn't the first to look away as she subtly tilted her head to one side and asked the question that truly worried her. "Why are you here?" She regarded him suspiciously. "What are you to Tatsuha?"  
  
Ryuichi broke eye contact for a brief moment, his blue eyes quickly skimming over the hallway before returning to meet her own. His smirk faded into a bitter smile and his eyes clouded in a way that somehow made him seem almost tragic. "His slave."  
  
Mika stared at him speechlessly for a moment before regaining her composure. "Could you tell him that I stopped by?" She finally managed. At his short nod she turned away and began walking down the hallway. On impulse she turned back, only to see him watching her go, his expression blank. "It...was nice to meet you." She said lamely, and quickly continued on her way.  
  
Behind her, in the doorway, Ryuichi smiled.  
  
...  
  
Tatsuha impatiently ran a hand through his dark hair as he waited for Tohma to finish talking on the phone. His brother-in-law had kept him waiting for hours while he chattered inanely to some business acquaintance, well...not really chattered, since Tohma was the epitome of cool professionalism...except where any of the Uesugi siblings were concerned. Then he was just scary. He almost reminded him of Ryuichi when he was in his adult phase and Eiri when he was...himself.  
  
That was lame. Tatsuha scowled as he tried to come up with a better word for his brother while Tohma continued speaking. It couldn't be going well for the poor person on the other end of the line, because Tohma was acting oddly...cheerful. Damn him anyway. Why the hell was he taking so long? It couldn't be that entertaining to scare some poor soul half to death...could it?  
  
Since Tatsuha had never had that particular pleasure he wisely kept his opinions to himself. In his head. Which was a bit strange to tell the truth...Who kept opinions to themself in their own mind.   
  
Could someone else be listening? Tatsuha had always thought people who said they were psychic were either trying to make money or were a little...off. Then again...he'd never believed demons could be sealed into pieces of jewelry until some hapless idiot read the bloody incantation off the bloody inside of the bloody ring.  
  
Speaking of which...could Ryuichi read minds? Had he been reading his? Tatsuha blanched at the thought, the blood draining from his face as he considered this possibility. There were some things he really didn't want the demon to know. Especially since he was sure Ryuichi'd get a kick out of some of the soap opera angst circulating in his head.  
  
Tatsuha really hoped he couldn't read minds, but the only way to know for sure was to ask and asking adult Ryuichi was not an option. Maybe little Ryuichi would be able to give him a response. Tatsuha tried valliantly to wrap his mind around the idea of little Ryuichi giving him a serious answer and felt his mind shutting down.  
  
Never mind then. He'd just drift along, pretending that the fact that Ryuichi had demon powers he couldn't even begin to describe didn't freak him out. It didn't. Not at all. If Ryuichi were listening he could kiss his cute little behind because Tatsuha did not care. Not at all.  
  
Hmph.  
  
A quiet click brought his mind back to Tohma's office and he found himself staring up the length of a Magnum and the arm holding it, its blond owner grinning in a decidedly maniacal way.  
  
"You should pay attention when Tohma-san speaks to you Tatsuha~chan~." Tatsuha felt himself begin to sweat and an uneasy smile broke out on his lips.   
  
What the hell was going on?  
  
"Really K-san, that isn't necessary." Tohma was calmly leaning forward onto his desk, his chin balanced delicately on his entertwined fingers, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Tatsuha-kun merely drifted off while waiting for me to finish my phone call...ne Tatsuha-kun?"  
  
Wide-eyed, Tatsuha nodded and, after a brief moment of hesitation, K reholstered the gun, a disappointed expression on his face.  
  
"Now now K-san." Tohma sounded amused. "Why don't you see how our dear Shindou-san is progressing with his lyrics?"   
  
Tatsuha was slightly disturbed to see K perk up at the suggestion and, looking decidedly gleeful, practically sprint out of Tohma's office and down the hall. He was starting to feel really sorry for this Shindou guy...wait...  
  
"Shindou? As in Shindou Shuichi?" " He asked and Tohma's eyebrow arched. "He works for you?" A smile lit up Tohma's face and Tatsuha perturbation increased exponentially.  
  
"You know Shindou-san then?" Tohma's smile was really creeping him out and Tatsuha felt his body automatically lean back in the chair.  
  
"I met him a few weeks ago at aniki's apartment." He frowned, studying Tohma's smiling, too calm countenance, suddenly irritated. "How long have you known?"  
  
Tohma's smile became impossibly wide. "I signed Shindou's group about six months ago. I believe Eiri-san met him during that time." He sighed as Tatsuha merely continued to stare at him. "Really, Tatsuha-kun...you and Mika surprise me. I thought you would have found out months ago, but it seems Eiri-san is too good at hiding things from you two." He sighed again when Tatsuha's eyes narrowed angrily. "Shindou-san has been living with Eiri-san for about four months now. The relationship shows every sign of being serious, despite Eiri-san's penchant for being...how shall I say this..."  
  
"A frigid bastard?" Tatsuha supplied and Tohma's eyes hardened for a moment before softening with amusement again.  
  
"If I didn't know that you really care about him, I'd have to hurt you for that." Tatsuha grinned back at his brother-in-law, too used to Tohma's psychosis to be very afraid. "So...that brings us to Mika and your apparent inability to call her back-"  
  
"TATSUHA!!!" Both men jumped at the sudden screech as Mika stormed into Tohma's office, her face red with anger.  
  
"Oneechan..." Tatsuha suddenly felt very small. "Umm...hi?" As Mika bore down on him, he tried to sink into his chair, avoiding her gaze as much as possible.  
  
"Why the hell haven't you been calling me?! I've been worried sick about you and your brother for weeks now! You're both always taking me for granted, thinking I'll always stand between you and father, but no more! You're going to tell me everything that's been happening since the last time we spoke, why you've been ignoring me, and who the hell Sakuma Ryuichi is!"   
  
Mika paused to take a breath before continuing. "I went by your apartment this morning otouto and that man answered the door and acted like he knew you..." Her face screwed up into an almost disgusted expression. "...intimately."  
  
Inwardly Tatsuha began to panic. Obviously Mika had met adult Ryuichi and he had said something...suggestive. Now Mika thought Tatsuha was involved in an illicit relationship with an older man. He felt his face begin to redden. Damnit! Now she would really believe that he was sleeping with Ryuichi! As if this could get any more complicated.  
  
"Tatsuha?" Mika's voice had taken on a decidedly dangerous tone. Tatsuha resisted the urge to squeak like a terrified schoolgirl and looked up hesitantly to meet her now icy gaze.  
  
"He's my roommate." He said softly. His face grew redder and he found he couldn't hold Mika's gaze any longer. "We're not...intimate." The resounding silence that answered him made Tatsuha decidedly uncomfortable, and he could feel his face getting redder and redder.  
  
'Damn me!' He thought angrily. 'Why the hell am I blushing so much? I don't usually act this embarrassed!' He chanced a quick glance at Mika then at Tohma, both of whom were smirking at him in a decidedly amused fashion. 'Shit!'  
  
...  
  
Ryuichi looked up at the sound of Tatsuha's key turning in the door, then returned to flipping through the sketchbook he had found with all of Tatsuha's art supplies. There had been quite a few books piled up against the wall, and it was likely that they were personal. He smiled to himself.  
  
Whatever.  
  
He heard Tatsuha take his shoes off in the front hall and his footsteps as the young painter moved into the living room. He heard them stop as Tatsuha realized what he was flipping through and then heard them start again, only to stop when Tatsuha was standing right in front of him. Glancing upwards briefly, Ryuichi offered Tatsuha a brief smile before returning to his perusal of the painter's work.  
  
"Welcome back." Dimly he was aware that Tatsuha's hands had clenched into fists, and that the young man was trembling with barely suppressed anger.  
  
"What are you doing?" Tatsuha's voice was pleasantly soft despite the rage Ryuichi could feel coming off of him in waves.  
  
"I'm looking at your art." Ryuichi responded calmly and looked up at Tatsuha, an indifferent expression on his face. Tatsuha's eyes were burning darkly, his lips pressed together in a thin line as he tried to control his anger. Ryuichi smirked inwardly as he delicately arched one eyebrow, his expression a picture of innocent inquiry.  
  
"I'd rather you didn't." Tatsuha answered, his voice even.  
  
"I know." Ryuichi replied and his smile transformed into a smirk. "I wouldn't want people to see my art either if I drew like this." Looking up at Tatsuha he felt a flash of victory as he noticed the painter's eyes darken with hurt.  
  
Tatsuha's mouth twisted into a sad parody of a smile. "That is why I keep these hidden away Sakuma-san." His tone was shaky enough that the attempted quip fell flat.   
  
Silence reigned until Ryuichi closed the sketchbook and stood, stretching like a cat. "Well, I'm off now." He caught Tatsuha around the waist and pressed his lips to the painter's cheek in a false show of affection. "Catch you later." With that, he was gone, and Tatsuha was left alone in the dimly lit living room, his eyes shadowed with pain.  
  
...  
  
Later that night as Tatsuha sat in bed reading, his bedroom door opened quietly. Cautiously, Ryuichi poked his head into the room and, when he had made certain Tatsuha was awake, fully opened the door and let himself in. Tatsuha watched him silently, trying to figure out which of the Ryuichis was looking back at him, and what this Ryuichi wanted.  
  
"Tatsu-chan?" Tatsuha relaxed against his propped up pillows at the quiet sound of little Ryuichi's voice. Calmly, he closed his book and set it down next to him before turning back to look at him.  
  
"Yeah?" Little Ryuichi looked slightly nervous, as if he wasn't sure he should be there. Carefully, he cleared his throat before hesitantly approaching the bed.  
  
"Tatsu-chan...I'm..." He cut himself off and pouted, hiding his face in Kumagorou. Tatsuha smiled despite himself. Where had the pink bunny come from anyway?  
  
"What is it Ryuichi?" One look at the expression on Ryuichi's face and he quickly corrected himself. "I mean Ryu-chan. Are you alright? Did you need something?"  
  
"You draw really well Tatsu-chan!"   
  
The sudden statement threw Tatsuha off guard and his eyes widened dramatically. "Umm...thank you?" Ryuichi looked like he was going to cry so Tatsuha smiled softly at him. This seemed to be all the encouragement Ryuichi needed, because the next thing Tatsuha knew, he was leapt on by a hyper blur of pink and brown. "GAH!"  
  
"TATSU-CHAN!!!" Tatsuha gasped for breath as Ryuichi bounced happily on the bed. Painfully, he closed his eyes and tried to recover from Ryuichi's lunge until..."KUMAGOROU BEAM!!!" The pink bunny smacked Tatsuha in the head and sent him crashing to the floor in a heap.  
  
"Itai..." He whimpered softly as Ryuichi blinked down at him owlishly from the bed.  
  
"Mou...you should pay attention when Ryu-chan is talking to you Tatsu-chan...Kumagorou was getting mad at you!" Ryuichi was pouting cutely, the pink bunny safely back in his arms.  
  
Tatsuha managed to pull himself back into his bed before replying. "Gomen nasai Ryu-chan, but I'm kind of tired now." He yawned slightly. "How about I tell you a story and then we go to sleep ok?"  
  
Ryuichi brightened visibly and leaped off the bed, running into his room. "HAI! I'll be back in a moment with the book Tatsu-chan!"  
  
Smiling, Tatsuha leaned back against his pillows until Ryuichi came back and leaped into the bed again, this time curling up against Tatsuha as the young painter read from the book, looking intently at the brightly coloured pictures and listening avidly to the soothing tones of Tatsuha's voice. Tatsuha relaxed against the bed, reading softly to Ryuichi until both of them fell asleep still curled up together, content in the knowledge that, at least for one night, they weren't alone.  
  
...  
  
Ru: Chapter Three done...I'm so sorry that I haven't posted for a long time, but there really was no time and this was a difficult chapter to write for some reason.  
  
Rui: Excuses will get you nowhere.  
  
Ru: *ignores her* Ryuichi's being so mean to Tatsuha...I'm almost guilty for all the torture he's going through...  
  
Rui: Almost.  
  
Ru: Well the story won't work otherwise. Tatsuha needs to suffer now in order for this to be believable.  
  
Rui: He kissed him.  
  
Ru: On the cheek and it wasn't meant to be nice.  
  
Rui: You suck.  
  
Ru: I won't answer with the obvious comeback to that. I'm not that perverted...I'm not!  
  
Rui: Whatever. This still sucks.  
  
Ru: Everyone...I'm sorry that it's been so long. I hope you will still review...I know I don't deserve it...  
  
Rui: I'll drink to that. *raises wine glass*  
  
Ru: You don't drink. What is that anyway? *grabs glass and takes cautious sip. White grape juice?  
  
Rui: I don't drink alcohol.  
  
Ru: Baka. 


	5. Chapter 4

Ru: Ehh...I'm not sure what I'm doing with this fic...TT  
  
Rui: What the hell does that mean?  
  
Ru: I know what's going to happen soon, but not how I'm going to get there.  
  
Rui: rolls eyes Idiot.  
  
Ru: I know...sigh Damn me.  
  
Rui: Too late.  
  
Ru: TT Idiot.  
  
Disclaimer: Do I look like I'm a native of Japan who created Gravitation in all its glory? No. I'm too poor to be the creator, and I don't draw that well. Thank you.  
  
Warning: Must we go over this again? Characters will be OOC because some of the background has been changed. I'm not a hyper person, so hyper people are difficult for me. Also...shounen ai and yaoi ahead. Be warned. Homophobes...I don't want you here. Why are you here?  
  
...  
  
Demon Ring  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Ryuichi was the first one to wake up. This was usually the case, since the demon tended to be an early riser. This particular morning, however, Ryuichi woke up in someone else's bed.  
  
The ceiling looked the same as the ceiling in his room and the bed was just as comfortable. It was only when Ryuichi yawned and tried to stretch and his hand brushed up against a warm body that he realized that someone was asleep next to him, and it was only when he carefully turned to look at the sleeping body that he realized who it was.  
  
Shit.  
  
Why the hell was he in bed with Tatsuha?! Quickly, Ryuichi checked to see what he was wearing. He was completely clothed.  
  
Thank God.  
  
That still didn't explain why he was in bed with the young painter. He hadn't had enough alcohol the night before to warrant the complete memory blank he was experiencing...that could only mean one thing.  
  
Ryu-chan. That little...! Ryuichi didn't know when his other personality had taken over, but he did not like it. Especially since Ryu-chan liked Tatsuha and had probably tried to make him feel better after he'd intentionally hurt his feelings.  
  
Speaking of Tatsuha...Ryuichi sat up so that he could look down at the sleeping boy. Tatsuha looked stressed even when he was sleeping. A frown slightly creased his forehead and his lips were tight with tension. He was still lovely despite this. Ryuichi's gaze slid over Tatsuha's features as if he were memorizing them, taking in the pale curves of his face and how his long dark eyelashes curled lightly against his skin when his eyes were shut.  
  
So lovely...Ryuichi's hand rose of its own volition and his fingers ghosted over Tatsuha's brow, almost tenderly smoothing the slight crease there. The young painter sighed softly in his sleep, and the tension dissipated somewhat. His face took on a more vulnerable, unguarded look that made him look years younger and impossibly innocent. It was a look that made Ryuichi's breath catch in his throat as he stared, transfixed, at the sleeping boy.  
  
Beautiful...his gaze drifted idly over Tatsuha's features until Ryuichi found himself staring at the boy's mouth, his lips parted almost imperceptibly. They looked soft, inviting, and Ryuichi was leaning forward before he had really thought about it, his eyes fixed on Tatsuha as his mouth sought out and found that of the boy beneath him, his lips brushing against Tatsuha's own in a caress so light that their mouths almost did not touch at all. Sighing inwardly, Ryuichi let his eyes slide shut for one moment as he enjoyed the moment of peaceful contentment he was experiencing.  
  
Wait...Ryuichi's eyes shot open and he threw himself off of the bed and away from the unlikely source of the peace he had felt. Curling into a self protective ball, Ryuichi stared blankly at the bed he had just vacated, his eyes wide with horror. What was he doing?! How could he have done it? He hated Tatsuha didn't he? Didn't he?! Ryuichi clutched at his head, a desperate moan bubbling from between his lips. This was insane!  
  
Panicked, Ryuichi struggled to his feet, his hands fumbling awkwardly before he succeeded in opening the door and fled from the apartment and his oblivious roommate.  
  
Back in his room, Tatsuha turned over in his sleep, a small and innocent smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.  
  
...  
  
Ryuichi ran like mad, his only objective to get as far away from Tatsuha as he could. He continued to run until, gasping for breath, he collapsed onto a nearby bench overlooking the city.  
  
What had he done? How could he have kissed Tatsuha like that... What was he thinking?!  
  
Groaning, Ryuichi buried his head in his hands. He didn't care about Tatsuha. He hated Tatsuha. He wanted to kill Tatsuha. He wanted to hurt Tatsuha. He wanted Tatsuha to die painfully and slowly and he wanted the boy to die knowing that he was hated and that Ryuichi hated him.  
  
He remembered how Tatsuha had stiffened when he had wrapped his arms around his waist. He remembered how gentle the boy had been in pushing him away, even when Ryuichi had obviously been trying his damndest to hurt his feelings. He remembered how Tatsuha's eyes had darkened with pain and humiliation when Ryuichi had taunted him about the one thing that came close to defining who Tatsuha really was. He could picture him so clearly, the hurt in his eyes making him seem so vulnerable and tragic.  
  
He had been beautiful through all of it. A lovely, damaged innocent with no one to help him and an angry, hateful demon to break him. And Ryuichi wanted to break him. He wanted to rip him apart from the inside out, to tear his soul to pieces before he ripped apart his flesh.  
  
He did not want to see Tatsuha smile at him the way he had smiled when he was asleep. He did not want to see Tatsuha relax the heavy emotional shields he used to protect himself. He did not want to be the source of any of the boy's happiness, and he did not want to protect the absolutely captivating innocence Tatsuha had just shown him.  
  
He hated Tatsuha. He didn't want him. Not at all.  
  
He only wished he didn't feel as if he were trying to convince himself.  
  
...  
  
Ru: This was...short.  
  
Rui: And bad. You forgot bad.  
  
Ru: I would normally respond, but I've decided you're not worth it.  
  
Rui: That's only because you can't think of a decent comeback, because you know that I'm right. You suck.  
  
Ru: TT I am in control of my emotions.  
  
Rui: I see flamers. They want to tell you to stick to your day-job.  
  
Ru: grits teeth ...  
  
Rui: Did I mention that this is one of the worst attempts at writing that you've ever made?  
  
Ru: Ten...nine...eight...  
  
Rui: I'm sure that-  
  
Ru: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Rui: OO;;;  
  
Ru: coughs I'm done.   
  
Rui: I see...idiot.  
  
Ru: Well then...I think I'm done for now. I'll try to write another chapter in less time than it took me to get chapter 3 out.  
  
Rui: That shouldn't be difficult.  
  
Ru: Right...coughs I'll just be leaving...runs  
  
Rui: What the hell?! TT Come back! 


	6. Chapter 5

Ru: I'm back!  
Rui: Whatever...  
Ru: ...TT  
Rui: Now you can die.  
Ru: OO Someone's in a bad mood.  
Rui: ;;  
Ru: OO  
Rui: I...I'm just upset ok?!  
Ru: Ummm...why?  
Rui: glares coldly ...  
Ru: --;  
Rui: leaves  
Ru: Right...  
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I don't own the series...even though I wish I did. ;;  
Warning: Shounen ai/Yaoi, rampant OOCness, etc. And there will be some slight lime in this chapter. I apologize if it reads like a bad yaoi manga. Some more Tatsuha torture as well…which is easier to write than it should be…Somehow I like mean Ryuichi…  
...  
  
Demon Ring  
Chapter Five  
  
Tatsuha sighed as he sipped a steaming cup of tea, his eyes staring blankly ahead. The apartment was silent, the only sounds heard were Tatsuha's own breathing and the quiet clink of the tea cup when he set it down on the kitchen table.  
  
Three days. It had been three days since he'd last seen or heard anything of Ryuichi. The demon had apparently switched personalities sometime during the night and, disgusted at the idea that little Ryuichi was sharing a bed with Tatsuha, had taken off before the painter woke up.   
  
Now, three days later, Tatsuha was beginning to feel worried, although he'd never admit it if anyone asked. It was just...what if something happened? What if Ryuichi changed into little Ryuichi and someone tried to hurt him? He wouldn't be able to defend himself, since little Ryuichi was so vulnerable.  
  
Tatsuha did his best to ignore the treacherous voice that told him he was equally worried about the older Ryuichi.   
  
He couldn't.  
  
Tatsuha frowned and felt himself begin to pout. This was ridiculous! He didn't care what the older Ryuichi did. Why should he? The demon was cruel to him every time they met and did his best to hurt him. Tatsuha couldn't think of any reason he should feel anything but dislike for him...except...  
  
He'd hurt Ryuichi...hadn't he. He'd told Ryuichi that he wanted him to stay with him...that had been his wish. Ryuichi hadn't been given a choice. Since Tatsuha possessed the ring he was technically the demon's master. Ryuichi had to obey...  
  
Tatsuha shuddered and his grip on the teacup tightened. It must be horrible for Ryuichi...to be the servant of whoever held the ring, to know that he had to listen to whatever that person wanted. Maybe Ryuichi had a reason for being the way he was...  
  
The opening of the front door was loud in the stillness of the apartment. Tatsuha looked up from his teacup to see Ryuichi walk into the kitchen, a faraway, troubled look on his face.  
  
When Ryuichi's eyes focussed on Tatsuha he seemed almost startled, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. Inwardly, Tatsuha sighed. He had a feeling this wouldn't be pretty.  
  
"Good morning Ryuichi." Tatsuha said softly, hoping against hope to stop whatever was about to happen.  
  
Ryuichi's eyes widened momentarily before narrowing further, and the demon advanced on Tatsuha, a hateful expression in his eyes that Tatsuha had never seen before.  
  
"You." Ryuichi hissed and Tatsuha almost physically recoiled from the barely controlled rage he could make out in his voice. The demon's hand closed over Tatsuha's teacup and flung it into the opposite wall, the fragile piece shattering on impact with a loud crash that quickly brought Tatsuha to his feet, his eyes wide with shock and some fear as Ryuichi continued to advance on him, the murderous expression in his eyes deepening with every passing moment.  
  
"What's wrong with you?!" Tatsuha began to back away as Ryuichi moved forward, not stopping until his back hit the wall behind him. "Why are you so angry?!"  
  
Ryuichi halted directly in front of him and Tatsuha found himself transfixed by the enraged look in his eyes. "Why am I angry?" The demon took one shuddering breath. "Are you really that stupid? Why don't you think about it for a moment...master." Tatsuha flinched as Ryuichi's hands slammed into the wall on either side of his head, the demon leaning forward until Tatsuha felt like he was drowning in an angry, spiteful, hate-filled ocean.  
  
"Stop it." Tatsuha managed, his own eyes beginning to spark with anger in response to Ryuichi's rage.  
  
"Stop…?" Ryuichi closed his eyes and laughed quietly, making Tatsuha wince at the bitter and empty sound. "I wish I could. I wish I could end this…end you. Did you know that? Did you ever realize how much I want to kill you?"  
  
"Ryuichi…"  
  
"I really, really do. More than anyone…you are the one I want to destroy. I want to hurt you until you beg for death, and then give it to you so slowly that you'll suffer all the pain and anguish I've ever felt. I want to rip you apart and hear you scream. I despise you…"  
  
"Stop." Tatsuha's eyes were tightly shut and his voice was no more than a tortured whisper. "Please."  
  
Ryuichi kept speaking, however, his eyes still closed and his hands still placed on either side of Tatsuha's head. "I wish I could hurt you, but you have the strongest protection possible from me. The ring keeps you safe. As long as you have it…I can't touch you. After all" he laughed harshly "what kind of slave would destroy his own master?" With that, Ryuichi was gone, leaving Tatsuha alone in the kitchen.  
  
...  
  
Tatsuha sighed darkly as he finished sweeping up the shards of pottery that littered the kitchen floor. Ryuichi had been really angry, much angrier than he'd ever been before.  
  
Tatsuha had never seen him be physically violent before.  
  
But then…Ryuichi hadn't ever…Tatsuha shuddered, dropping the cloth he had been using to mop up the tea that had splashed over the wall, counter, and floor. Ryuichi hated him. Tatsuha had suspected, a part of him had always known, but he'd wanted to be wrong. He'd wanted desperately to be wrong.  
  
How stupid. Of course Ryuichi would hate him. Tatsuha was his jailer after all. He'd kept him here against his will for so long when it was obvious that Ryuichi wanted his freedom…wanted to get away.  
  
Damnit how could he?! He wasn't the type of person who would willfully hold someone hostage. So how could he have done so to Ryuichi? He wasn't that desperate. He wasn't that lonely.  
  
Tatsuha sighed and finished mopping up the tea. He had no choice, he supposed. There really wasn't any other option.  
  
Tatsuha knew what he had to do.  
  
…  
  
He had to get out of here. Ryuichi glared up at the ceiling of his room from his position on the bed. Tatsuha was driving him insane.   
  
The painter knew now. He knew that Ryuichi hated him. He knew. Ryuichi wondered what he was thinking, how he'd react. What would Tatsuha do now that Ryuichi had revealed how much he was despised? Would he give Ryuichi back the ring and try to live his life as he had before, or would he try to ignore everything the demon had said and keep the ring to himself?  
  
A treacherous voice in his head told Ryuichi he'd actually be a bit disappointed if Tatsuha gave the ring back to him.  
  
He told it to shut up.  
  
Seriously though…Why Tatsuha would prolong their suffering was beyond him, although, Tatsuha had made some rather…strange decisions regarding the demon in the short time they had known each other. The boy was probably some sort of closet masochist, Ryuichi mused. There was no other probable explanation for his odd behaviour.  
  
Now Tatsuha was knocking on his door. Ryuichi could not understand what the painter would have to say to him after all that had just happened. He was probably right, he smirked to himself. Tatsuha probably did enjoy pain.  
  
Grimacing, the demon forced himself to stand and walk the short distance to the door. Opening it, he stared coldly at the young painter who looked back at him calmly, his dark eyes betraying nothing of his purpose.  
  
"What do you want?" Ryuichi's voice was weary, but held a sharp edge to it.  
  
"I'm giving this back to you." Tatsuha said quietly and held the ring out to Ryuichi. Slowly, the demon took it from him and looked it over intently before turning his eyes back to Tatsuha's own.  
  
"Do you know what you're doing by returning this to me now?" He asked carefully and Tatsuha nodded.  
  
"I'm giving you your freedom." He replied. Ryuichi stepped back from the doorway and waved him into the room. Tatsuha moved past him and stood quietly in the centre of it. Ryuichi closed the door softly and turned to face him, his eyes cold.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" His voice was icy. "Do you really understand what it means? Now that I'm free from the power of the ring, I'm under no obligation to keep you safe." He began to step closer to Tatsuha who began to look slightly nervous.   
  
"I can hurt you." Ryuichi backed Tatsuha up until his legs hit the edge of the bed.   
  
"I can kill you." Before Tatsuha could react, Ryuichi grabbed his wrists and threw him backwards, pinning him down against the sheets. Tatsuha struggled weakly before lying still, looking up at Ryuichi with wide eyes.  
  
"What do you want me to say?" The demon snapped angrily. "Do you want me to thank you?! Do you want me to thank you for giving me back what you stole from me?!" Tatsuha continued to watch him without saying a word. Ryuichi's expression grew angrier and his grip on the painter's wrists tightened painfully. "Well?!"  
  
"I don't want that." Tatsuha said quietly. "I don't want anything." He winced as the pressure on his wrists increased. "I just-" He broke off and Ryuichi leaned closer, placing more weight onto Tatsuha's hands.  
  
"You just what?" His voice was colder than Tatsuha had ever heard it before.  
  
"I just wanted to give it back to you!" He snapped and Ryuichi's grip loosened fractionally as the demon's eyes widened slightly with surprise. "I don't want anything back!" Ryuichi stared at him for a moment before laughing softly.  
  
"Do you really expect me to believe that?" There was a mocking lilt to his voice.  
  
"I don't care if you do!"  
  
"You should." Ryuichi murmured and Tatsuha froze. "I could kill you right now if I wanted to." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Tatsuha's neck, somehow pleased at the slight shiver he received in response to the light touch.   
  
Smirking slightly, Ryuichi bit down on the delicate flesh, breaking the skin and drawing blood. Dimly he heard Tatsuha gasp and he pulled back enough so he could see the painter's face. Ryuichi smirked maliciously, running his tongue over what Tatsuha could now see were two small fangs.  
  
"What did you do to me?" Tatsuha asked, his eyes slightly fearful. Ryuichi's smirk widened.  
  
"You'll see."   
  
The reply was uninformative, but soon Tatsuha understood as a lancet of white hot pain shot through his body. Kept immobile by the demon above him, all Tatsuha could do was arch slightly, throwing his head to the side and closing his eyes as a sharp cry escaped his lips.   
  
Agony. He was in agony.   
  
It felt like he was dying. Ryuichi really was going to kill him. Hot tears of pain squeezed out from between his clenched eyelids. The demon actually hated him that much...  
  
Ryuichi watched Tatsuha succumb to the pain, his eyes dark with an unnamable emotion. They darkened further when Tatsuha cried out and when he saw the tears, Ryuichi roughly moved both of Tatsuha's wrists above his head so that he could hold them both with one hand. His free hand traced the tear tracks on Tatsuha's face, the touch so light that the young painter seemed unaware of it. Then, his face blank, Ryuichi gripped the dark haired boy's chin and harshly forced his face upwards, leaning forwards so that his own mouth once again pressed against the wound on the painter's neck.  
  
Gradually, the painful shudders ceased and Tatsuha slumped weakly back onto the bed, his breathing eventually slowing until it returned to normal. After a seemingly long period of time, Tatsuha's eyes fluttered open and he stared up at the demon who still held him captive. Ryuichi's expression was unreadable, but he stared down at Tatsuha with an intensity that made him feel very uncomfortable.  
  
"Why did you stop it?" Ryuichi's eyes widened once more before he frowned thoughtfully. "Don't you want to kill me?"  
  
Tatsuha was beginning to feel very confused. The demon had not stopped staring at him. Ryuichi's eyes burned into his with blue fire, their expression completely shadowed.  
  
The tension between them grew, thickening until Tatsuha felt like it was choking him. When Ryuichi leaned towards him again, panic suffused his being. The young painter closed his eyes and waited for the sharp bite of the demon's fangs against his neck.  
  
It was therefore a complete shock when he felt Ryuichi's lips press against his own in a brutal kiss.  
  
Tatsuha's eyes flew open as the demon attacked his mouth, forcing the painter's lips apart so his tongue could slide past them. The kiss burned. Ryuichi laid waste to all of Tatsuha's physical defenses, subjugating every crevice of his mouth. It was as if, Tatsuha's eyes narrowed with the beginnings of anger, the demon was claiming him as property. Ryuichi was treating him like an object, and pinned down as Tatsuha was, he couldn't stop him.  
  
When his mouth was finally released, Tatsuha glared icily up at the demon who was now smirking down at him in a very self-satisfied way.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Tatsuha's voice was hot with rage. Ryuichi, keeping both the painter's hands above his head, trailed his free hand lightly down the side of his face. When his fingers slid over Tatsuha's lips, however, the dark haired boy snapped at them with his teeth, forcing Ryuichi to draw back his hand, an amused expression on his face.  
  
"I never thought you would be rough in bed." The demon taunted and Tatsuha's face flushed with fury.  
  
"I don't want you to touch me!" He snapped angrily and renewed his struggles, futily attempting to throw Ryuichi off of him. The demon easily maintained his position above Tatsuha, his mouth twitching with what seemed to be derisive amusement.  
  
"Pointless." The statement made Tatsuha's movements cease abruptly, and he sagged against the bed. His lean body was tense with a heady mixture of anger and fear and his eyes burned with both emotions. Ryuichi was far stronger than he was. Tatsuha could not move him. "Why are you so shocked? Didn't you expect something like this to happen?"  
  
"I expected you would try to kill me." Tatsuha said harshly, a note of hysteria creeping into his voice. "I wasn't expecting you to try to rape me!" Ryuichi laughed loudly and Tatsuha tensed further at the cruel sound.  
  
"I don't want to rape you." His free hand was moving down over Tatsuha's face and neck, pausing at the collar of his shirt. The demon leaned forward so that his face was centimetres away from that of the boy beneath him. "I was actually hoping for something consensual." His smirk widened when Tatsuha's eyes blazed with fury and he surged forward when the painter's mouth opened to retort, forcefully sealing Tatsuha's lips with his own.  
  
Tatsuha gasped for air as his mouth was plundered once again. He resisted the urge to bite down hard on Ryuichi's tongue, the memory of the pain that could be inflicted still freshly imprinted on his mind and body. The demon's free hand continued its trip down his body, sliding over the material of his T-shirt until it reached the hem.   
  
Deftly, Ryuichi slid his hand underneath the soft material, running his fingers over Tatsuha's bare skin. The light touch felt very nice, and Tatsuha moaned softly into Ryuichi's mouth before he could stop himself. The demon broke the kiss and grinned down at him while Tatsuha cursed himself and Ryuichi, finding himself unable to deny that it had felt good.  
  
"Still say no?" The demon's taunting voice reawakened Tatsuha's anger and he remembered why he was so against this...this...violation, his mind supplied, and the flame of his rage was fed, making it burn hotter inside of him.  
  
"Of course I still say no!" He snapped and was rewarded with another wide grin before the hand under his shirt gripped the material and yanked it over his head, leaving it twisted around Tatsuha's elbows before he released his grip on his wrists.   
  
The painter, feeling the pressure on his arms released, struggled to free them from the restrictive grasp of the shirt. Thusly occupied, he was unprepared for what Ryuichi did next and could not hold back the cry of surprise when the demon's mouth descended on the delicate skin of his neck.  
  
Ryuichi's lips slid idly up Tatsuha's throat before they parted, and he felt teeth scrape lightly over his flesh. The demon began a gentle wet suction, his lips, teeth, and tongue teasing Tatsuha's senses.   
  
It felt good. Very good. Tatsuha felt his eyelids grow heavy and he fought the urge to let them drift shut in response to the pleasure he was experiencing.  
  
He abandoned the attempt to free his arms and let them fall back against the bed-covers. The tension seeped from his body as Ryuichi continued his pleasurable assault. His mouth had traveled from his neck to his ear, and Tatsuha shivered at the feeling of the demon's breath against his skin.  
  
"You're enjoying this." Ryuichi's voice was smug and self satisfied, but Tatsuha could not summon the energy necessary to retort. "I'm not a rapist. You'll have to tell me what you want."  
  
Tatsuha's eyes widened and he turned his face to Ryuichi, shaking his head slightly. This was too much. It was humiliation at its peak. Ryuichi had forced him to feel, to physically want this, and now he was taking away any opportunity Tatsuha had of rationalizing the event in his mind. He was forcing Tatsuha to shoulder responsibility for what Ryuichi was doing to him.  
  
"I can't." He said it quietly, but there was a hint of steel in his voice. Ryuichi smirked at that and let his hands wander over Tatsuha's skin. One hand drifted lazily over his chest as the other teased at the waistband of his jeans, Ryuichi's fingers slipping just underneath it. Tatsuha gasped and glared up at him again, his body arching slightly into the light touch of Ryuichi's hands.  
  
"Tell me what you want." Ryuichi's voice was calm and collected, his tone betraying very little of the amusement he was undoubtedly feeling. "It's only one sentence." His hands ghosted over Tatsuha's sides and hips, and his next words were muffled against the painter's throat and chest. "It shouldn't be so difficult."  
  
Tatsuha gasped as Ryuichi's tongue slid over a particularly sensitive area. He gave a defeated sigh as the demon continued his assault, obviously having no problem coercing him into making a certain choice. "I...I want..." He stopped himself, furiously sinking his teeth into his lower lip.  
  
"What do you want?" Ryuichi's voice was quieter now, a whisper against his skin.  
  
"I want you to stop." He said it quickly, the half-truth almost bitter in his mouth as it fell from his lips.  
  
"Really." The demon's face was directly above his own then, and Tatsuha had to fight to prevent himself from turning away from the intense stare. They looked at one another for a long moment before Ryuichi's mouth twisted into a humorless smile and his hand moved below Tatsuha's waist, causing him to arch upwards with a cry of surprised pleasure. The demon's other hand threaded through Tatsuha's hair and yanked him into another kiss.  
  
Tatsuha briefly thought that Ryuichi seemed almost angry that he had been defied, but it was swept away by the intensity of the kiss and Ryuichi's caress. When the demon's mouth broke away from his own, the young painter felt as if he was suspended in a dense fog and struggled vainly to regain some of his mental faculties.  
  
"You're a terrible liar." Ryuichi's voice was again calm, and Tatsuha envied him his apparent composure. "Tell me what you really want." Tatsuha struggled to say it again, to protest everything Ryuichi was doing to him. His lips parted as he gasped for air and began to speak.  
  
"I want you." His voice was weak and shaky. Tatsuha felt tears of anger and frustration build up in the corners of his eyes. He had lost. He knew that now more than ever as Ryuichi's face shone with triumph. He had been so stupid!   
  
Tatsuha let his eyes slide shut as he felt Ryuichi remove his remaining clothing. The pleasure clouding his mind increased in intensity and Tatsuha began to lose more and more of his ability to think. Vaguely, he realized that the tears that had built up were falling from behind his closed eyelids and streaking down his face.   
  
He was crying. He hadn't cried in years.  
  
The pleasure grew to a fevered pitch and Tatsuha found himself crying out with ecstasy in response to it, even as he shed tears in response to the turmoil in his mind. His body was on fire. Pain and pleasure combined in a heady mix that made his body crave something he couldn't name, something he had never experienced.   
  
He was so close, riding a wave of incredible sensation that finally crashed over him, consuming his senses completely as it bore him into the depths of unconsciousness. As his senses faded, all Tatsuha could think was that he hadn't wanted this, but it had felt too good.  
  
...  
  
Ru: AHHHH!!! dies  
Rui: blushing That really sucked.  
Ru: blushes Don't s-say that!  
Rui: ??? blushes Damnit!  
Ru: Umm…what do I say? This was so bad! cries I'm sorry!!!  
Rui: mutters Well as long as you know. runs away, her hands covering her cheeks  
Ru: screams angrily after her WAIT! Come back! panics and runs 


	7. Chapter 6

Ru: Ahahahahahaha...I'm back.  
Rui: -pokes her with a stick- She didn't twitch. -pause- Damn.  
Ru: I'm sorry it's been so long. I had writer's block. I didn't know what to do...Poor Tatsuha...I want him to be happy, because...well...I like him. So he should be happy. But it's hard to dig them out of this situation. They're probably not going to be okay for a long time. -sighs- Why am I such an angsty writer?  
Rui: Shut up.  
Ru: -ignores her- Anyway, this chapter will cover their reactions to what happened. They're not going to come face to face, since...Ryuichi ran away. Again...I'm so sorry it's been this long. I'm trying, but I just started university so I'm slightly stressed.  
Disclaimer: I'm not Japanese. I don't own them. Don't sue me. All I have are textbooks and why would you want those? They're all about science and engineering.  
Warnings: Shounen ai/yaoi, blatant OOCness, brief reference to non-con, etc. If you've read all the chapters of this story you should get it by now.  
---  
  
Demon Ring Chapter Six  
---  
  
Ryuichi glared at the sidewalk as he continued walking, the hazy light of the streetlamp barely lighting up the path. He had left Tatsuha's apartment almost immediately after the boy had fallen asleep, only pausing to have a shower, get dressed, and grab his jacket before he fled.  
  
Somehow, even after he had practically scrubbed his skin off, he still felt dirty. It was as if the meager amount of purity he'd managed to retain over his very long life had been destroyed.  
  
The child Ryuichi could be was probably not going to emerge any time soon. Especially not after what he'd done to Tatsuha.  
  
Rape.  
  
He'd raped him. No matter what he'd said to Tatsuha while he was actually doing it, Ryuichi had forced himself on the boy. He'd forced Tatsuha to enjoy what he was doing. Forced those quiet, choked gasps and whimpers from his lips...  
  
Ryuichi stopped himself from continuing along that particular train of thought.  
  
And it wasn't even as if Tatsuha had done anything to deserve it. If anything, Ryuichi should just have left after Tatsuha had snapped back at him the first time. He shouldn't have kept pushing.  
  
In retrospect, pinning the young painter to the bed probably hadn't been the smartest thing Ryuichi had ever done.  
  
Once he'd had him there all he could think about was how pretty Tatsuha was, how the dark feathers of his hair contrasted so beautifully with the white sheets, how his position of apparent submission made him look so appealing, and how he looked so innocent despite the rage in his eyes...  
  
Ryuichi wanted to rip that innocence apart even as he wanted to preserve and cherish it. Part of him wanted to protect Tatsuha's purity from anything that could ever sully it while an equally large part of him was aching to possess him and shatter every innocent feeling the pretty painter had ever had.  
  
He'd known that Tatsuha was good looking. He'd acknowledged the brief glimmer of attraction he'd experienced earlier on during their forceful binding. What he had not realized was the effect the painter would have on him and most likely still had.  
  
He had wanted to kill Tatsuha. He had wanted to hurt him. He had wanted to make him beg, and make him bleed...but when he'd had Tatsuha at his mercy it had been extremely difficult to think about causing him pain.  
  
He hadn't been able to understand why he felt this way about the boy. Tatsuha shouldn't have had such an effect on him. It had unbalanced Ryuichi, making him feel as if he was losing control of himself.  
  
He hated feeling like that.  
  
That was why he'd hurt Tatsuha. He'd wanted to persuade himself that he felt nothing more than hate and some lust for him. He'd told himself that once he could bring himself to hurt him, any other feelings he had for the painter would be swept away and he would be able to enjoy his revenge.  
  
The sight of Tatsuha's pain had made him sick to his stomach. The expression of acute suffering on his face combined with the sharp cry that had escaped his lips had almost obliterated all of his resolve. What had remained was destroyed by the quiet tears of pain that Tatsuha had shed.  
  
Ryuichi had never seen him cry before.  
  
Tatsuha was beautiful when he cried, but the sight of his tears was also heartwrenchingly tragic. It was as if the boy were something delicate and fragile that should have been protected, but was instead being cruelly shattered.  
  
Ryuichi didn't like the thought of that. He didn't like the thought that Tatsuha would be broken by what he'd done. He didn't like the thought that it would be something that he had done.  
  
The thought of Tatsuha shattering made Ryuichi feel...sad. Tatsuha didn't deserve to be hurt like that. Tatsuha hadn't ever done anything to hurt him. Tatsuha really was pure, untainted, something Ryuichi had ceased to be in what seemed like an eternity ago.  
  
None of the previous people who had held the ring were as gentle as Tatsuha was. The boy had never mistreated him, not even when Ryuichi had slipped into his childish persona. The truth was that the child inside of him loved the young painter, because only Tatsuha had laughed with him when he spoke about Kumagorou and brandished the pink bunny as a weapon.  
  
Only Tatsuha went out of his way to make the child Ryuichi feel happy so that he wouldn't ever feel the need to cry.  
  
Only Tatsuha smiled softly at him when he asked to be read to, and held him close without any reason other than to show Ryuichi the pictures in the book at the same time he read the words.  
  
Only Tatsuha never asked him to do anything except be there with him, despite the desire that Ryuichi had sometimes seen in his gorgeous eyes.  
  
Only Tatsuha...  
  
Ryuichi had lived for over 3000 years and in all that time he had never felt anything beyond contempt or grudging respect for any human. Now a nineteen year old boy, a veritable child compared to Ryuichi himself, was the source of feelings Ryuichi had neither expected nor wanted to feel.  
  
He couldn't hate Tatsuha.  
  
He never had.  
  
Tatsuha hated him though...how could he not? When Ryuichi had gone out of his way to hurt him. When all he had done was attempt to destroy everything that Tatsuha was. Hell...he'd tried to hurt Tatsuha every way he could think of...he'd succeeded in damaging him in ways Ryuichi himself had never even been damaged. How could Tatsuha be expected to forgive him? How could Tatsuha be expected to care for him when all Ryuichi did was destroy? Tatsuha was only human, after all, and human compassion and understanding were easy to break.  
  
Ryuichi wanted to go back. He wanted to see Tatsuha again. He...he wanted to touch him again. Ryuichi wanted to hear his voice at least one more time.  
  
But he couldn't go back.  
  
---  
  
When Tatsuha opened his eyes he was struck by how silent the apartment was, the heavy stillness seemingly choking everything in a dense fog that threatened to shatter if Tatsuha dared to move or make a sound.  
  
Ryuichi was gone. He knew that with complete clarity somehow, even though he hadn't checked the apartment for him yet. Even though he hadn't moved from his bed yet.  
  
Tatsuha sat up. He lay back down. That...hurt. It didn't hurt a great deal, but it hurt enough that he was uncomfortable. It was also a strange place to be sore. He wasn't exactly sure why...  
  
Oh.  
  
Tatsuha felt his face begin to burn. They had slept together. No...Ryuichi had...raped him? No...that wasn't right either. He...he had wanted Ryuichi in the end, and the demon hadn't hurt him. At least, he hadn't hurt him when he was...  
  
Tatsuha fell out of his bed.  
  
It hurt enough that Tatsuha decided to stay on the floor while he thought about what had happened.  
  
Ryuichi was gone. Would he come back? Did Tatsuha want him to come back? If he came back, what would Tatsuha do? What could he do? If Ryuichi wanted...if he wanted to do that again...then could Tatsuha actually stop him? Would he even try...?  
  
He couldn't know, Tatsuha realized bitterly. Ryuichi had essentially been raping him and he hadn't been able to stop him. He hadn't really been able to resist him either. He'd said no, but hadn't fought. Ryuichi had taken him so easily...it was such a joke.  
  
He was such a joke. Tatsuha felt his eyes begin to burn. He'd let Ryuichi do that to him...he'd let him...damnit how could he?! How could he have been so stupid...so goddamn weak?!  
  
Ryuichi must have been laughing. How could he not have been? Tatsuha must have looked so pathetic lying underneath him. He must have looked so ridiculous.  
  
Tatsuha angrily struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain it caused him. He wasn't going to dwell on this situation. He wasn't going to let Ryuichi rule his life this way. To be the source of the demon's entertainment...he wasn't going to accept that. He wasn't weak! He wasn't! He just...  
  
Tatsuha felt a harsh sob rip from his throat. Half blinded by tears, he stumbled painfully into the bathroom and turned the shower on. Not hesitating, he stepped underneath the spray, gasping sharply at the icy temperature. Shivering, Tatsuha slowly sank to his knees and curled up against the wall of the shower, arms wrapped securely around his legs as the water beat down on his head.  
  
"Why?" Tatsuha whispered. "Why are you doing this to me?" Why did Ryuichi affect him so much? Why did he accept everything that the demon did?  
  
"I'm not weak..." His arms tightened around his knees. "So why...why is it so easy for you to hurt me?" Trying in vain to hold back his sobs, Tatsuha buried his face in his knees, tears streaking down his face to mingle with the water falling from the shower. Tatsuha's frame soon shook with the force of his repressed sobs, and the sound of them echoed harshly throughout the apartment.  
  
Finally, after denying himself for so long, Tatsuha allowed himself release, and cried.  
  
---  
Ru: Chapter Six...I hope you liked this. It'll be a while before I update I think...Damn this angst.  
Rui: Does anyone still read this?  
Ru: I don't know...-cries-  
Rui: Che...your fault.  
Ru: I know. 


	8. Chapter 7

Ru: Argh...it's been so long...writer's block is the devil...the DEVIL! TT Rui: I never thought so many people would still read this story. You're a very lucky bunn-uhh...person.  
Ru: You were going to say bunny weren't you?  
Rui: It's your fault!  
Ru: .  
Rui: It is!  
Ru: I'm sure. What do you have against bunnies anyways?  
Rui: ...they scare me.  
Ru: Bunnies scare you?  
Rui: They're so cute and their noses are so twitchy...bunnies are evil...EVIL!  
Ru: I swear...you've been watching Buffy again haven't you?  
Rui: NOOOO! Spike's dead! NOOOOOO.  
Ru: -sweatdrop-  
Disclaimer: I do not own this series. Don't sue me unless you want a stack of textbooks...with no solution manuals. I love it when publishers are so logical.  
Warning: Shounen ai/yaoi, extreme OOCness, mentions of non-con, shattered/confused Tatsuha and twisted/confused Ryuichi.  
Rui: OOH. Eiri's in this chapter!  
Ru: ...Idiot. This takes place a bit later than the last chapter...so things that happened are mentioned that I never explicitly described before.

-

Demon Ring Chapter Seven

-

"So...if a tree falls down in a forest, but no one is around to hear it...does it make a sound?" Eiri and Tatsuha both looked up, identical expressions of incredulity on their faces. Shuichi beamed back at them, his bright smile quickly surpassing the level of the epic and travelling into the realm of the scary.

"You idiot." The frightening monstrosity that what Shuichi's smile diminished at Eiri's frigid response, but the little pink haired singer perked up as he turned to Tatsuha, who watched him warily for a while before volunteering an answer.

"I think that sound is just a vibration in the air and doesn't need anyone listening to exist." He smirked. "Besides...doesn't a forest always have something alive in it?" Shuichi stared at him in rapt fascination, his purple eyes large as he nodded.

"I'm amazed." They both turned at the sound of Eiri's voice. "You actually said something intelligent for once."

Tatsuha scowled. "I did take the mandatory science courses in high school you know."

"I knew there was a reasonable explanation for your sudden venture into the realm of the mentally gifted."

"I studied to pass my classes?" Eiri smirked.

"You plagiarised." Tatsuha glared as his brother lifted his can of beer in a mock salute and went back to reading his newspaper.

"See if I ever make the effort to be intelligent again." Tatsuha pouted.

"I'm sure you will." His brother replied. "I'm sure you'll fail too."

"You should be nicer to your little brother aniki." Tatsuha sighed. Eiri glanced up from the paper, expression vaguely amused.

"I should." He agreed. "But it's really not worth the effort." With that, he flipped the paper up, effectively concealing his slight smile from his little brother's eyes.

"YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Both brother's turned startled eyes to the source of this exclamation. "You smiled! I knew that Yuki had a soft loving place in his heart for Tatsuha. Yuki is just so soft and tender inside!" Eiri blanched at Shuichi's words, and Tatsuha smiled.

"Why aniki...it gladdens my poor heart to see that you love me! Now is the time for much brotherly bonding like...fishing or something." He stood and stretched, joints popping. "I'm going to go for a walk. Don't worry." He held up a hand as if to stop them from getting up. "I can find my own way, since I know you ladies don't want to spare the effort it would take to stand up." He grinned once, ferociously, the quick movement as sharp as a knife blade, and then he was gone, the front door slamming shut just before the couch cushion thumped harmlessly into it.

"I'm not a girl." Shuichi huffed and then smiled brilliantly, making something defrost in Eiri's chest. "It looks like Tatsuha is feeling better though...He's starting to smile and joke a lot more now. He's more like he was when I met him."

"If he's joking more...it's only because he's an idiot." Eiri replied cooly. "It's either that, or he decided the only way to survive your stupidity was to mirror it."

"Yuki!" Shuichi pouted. "You're so mean!" Eiri watched his lover for a long while, enjoying the way Shuichi squirmed under his silent scrutiny.

"Oi." He said finally and Shuichi's face took on an expectant look. "Weren't you supposed to go meet Tohma before?" He silently congratulated himself as a pink blur began to tear around the apartment, leaving him to read his newspaper in peace upto the moment when Shuichi decided to attach himself to Eiri's lips for a goodbye kiss.

The door slammed shut, Shuichi's cry of "I'll see you later!" leaving a ringing echo in the now silent apartment. After a few moments, Eiri set aside the newspaper and moved to the balcony, where he lit a cigarette and stared blankly at nothing in particular.

"It seems like Tatsuha is feeling better..." Shuichi's words resonated in Eiri's mind. The truth was...Tatsuha obviously was better now then he had been that day. Eiri knew he was starting to recover. Bit by bit. Piece by piece. Tatsuha was being put back together again in a way that Humpty Dumpty never was...although who the hell would waste their time trying to fix a fucking broken egg was beyond him. Eiri knew that Tatsuha was getting better. It was just that...he had no clue what was wrong in the first place.

His little brother had a secret. Eiri didn't like that. If anyone in their family was going to be mysterious or angsty then it would be him. Tatsuha really had no business trying to take over Eiri's position. He wasn't done with it yet.

That day...it had been about three weeks earlier when his little brother had asked to stay with him and Shuichi. Eiri's first instinct had been cold rejection, but then he'd looked at Tatsuha and somehow the words wouldn't come.

Tatsuha had looked almost dead. His eyes had been shuttered, blank, frighteningly empty. He'd looked exhausted and overburdened like he was carrying an enormous weight on his shoulders. While this was bad and made Eiri feel slightly more homicidal than usual, it wasn't what had most upset him, and wasn't what had really decided the issue of whether his brother could stay with him.

Eiri was worried. He was really worried. He was really worried about Tatsuha. It pissed him off.

Tatsuha and Eiri were not as close now as they had been. Before Eiri had gone to New York, but after that their relationship had deteriorated a bit. They didn't speak about everything anymore, hell... they didn't usually speak about anything at all. Eiri hadn't even told Tatsuha about Shuichi and the brat was one of the most important people in his life (although he'd never tell him that since the kid had a large enough ego already).

His brother had tried to hide it, of that Eiri was certain. He'd tried to hide the fact that something bad had happened to him, something bad enough that Tatsuha was unable to stay in his own apartment. Eiri felt more than a little pissed off that Tatsuha didn't seem to want to tell him what had happened. He was even more pissed off that the two of them didn't seem to be close enough for Eiri to ask him.

Eiri wanted to know what had made Tatsuha look so dead...made him look so much like...well...Eiri. He wanted to take action against whatever had done this to his family. He hated it...but the fact was that Eiri wanted to hurt whoever had hurt his little brother. No one could hurt Tatsuha but him. No one.

Eiri wanted to ask Tatsuha what was going on, to tell him that he shouldn't try to bullshit him, that Eiri had seen through all his lies and knew that something bad had happened to send Tatsuha packing from the apartment he technically owned. He was the sole person listed in the lease after all...Eiri cursed.

He couldn't ask Tatsuha what had happened, it just wasn't his place. Eiri just wanted to know what the hell was going on.

---

So if he wasn't going to go near Tatsuha again, then why was he here? Ryuichi glared at the apartment building from his perch on the roof of the building opposite. He'd made up his mind, hell...he knew he could never go back to that place, so why was he torturing himself by coming back here?

Ryuichi refused to believe that he was worried. He adamently denied the possibility that he was observing Tatsuha's apartment because the boy hadn't been back to it since he'd started watching two weeks ago.

'Two weeks watching his apartment.' Ryuichi thought incredulously. 'I am so obsessed.' His glare intensified. 'Where are you Tatsuha? Why haven't you come back?' He blinked at the sound of a car and his eyes fixed on the taxi that had just pulled up to the front of the apartment building.

"Tatsuha..." Ryuichi blinked at the sound of his own voice, the raw lust and longing infused in the softly groaned syllables so blatantly obvious it made his cheeks flush slightly with the beginnings of shame. If he'd had any doubts about what he felt for him, they were gone now. 'If just seeing you is enough to make me act like this...God Tatsuha, what have you done to me?'

As he stared, Ryuichi saw Tatsuha brush his hair out of his eyes, a wicked smile on his face as he accepted his bag from the cab driver and turned to enter the apartment building. Breathlessly, the demon watched as the building's doors closed behind him, and waited apprehensively, sighing almost with relief when he saw a light turn on in Tatsuha's apartment.

"Not a dream." Ryuichi murmured, and his tone changed subtly, his voice now almost a purr. "You're real. My Tatsuha..." His eyes, fixed intensely on the apartment window, seemed to gleam with both a possessive and adoring light. "I can't wait to see you again."

---

Tatsuha sighed, idly wandering around his apartment, checking to see whether everything was still in its proper place. It was obvious that no one had been in for a while, everything was exactly as he'd left it that day.

He was relieved to see all his paintings were where he'd left them. All the finished canvases were stacked neatly against the wall, easing his fear that Ryuichi would return to destroy them in an attempt to get his complete revenge and obliterate all traces of the person Tatsuha had been before that night.

The kitchen was the same. There were no dishes in the sink, none of the food in the fridge had been touched, and even the slightly visible tea stain on the kitchen wall was exactly as it had been, albeit a bit older looking. Tatsuha found himself transfixed by that wall for a moment, his fingers hovering just over it before he remembered himself and turned away.

He bypassed Ryuichi's old room, choosing instead to go first to the bathroom and then to his own. Once there, Tatsuha collapsed on his bed and stared at his ceiling for a while. He knew nothing had changed here, had known it as soon as he walked in. Now, there was really only one room to check. Only one, where it had happened.

A few moments later, Tatsuha found himself outside the door of that room, chewing nervously on his lower lip and he prepared to open the door. This room held many memories for him, not the least of which involved fear and pain, but Tatsuha had to be honest with himself and accept that Ryuichi's room didn't only hold those negative memories for him. A part of Tatsuha, quite a large part of him in fact, had enjoyed what they had done, what Ryuichi had done to him, because on some level Tatsuha cared deeply for the demon, cared enough that part of him wanted to see him again, wanted him to be on the other side of the door, smirking at him with that damn superior look in his eyes. An equally large part, however, was terrified of seeing him again, horrified at the thought of being at the mercy of Ryuichi's burning eyes and raging hatred.

Tatsuha wanted to see him, but he wanted to run as far away from him as possible.

With all that in mind, Tatsuha opened the door. He went inside. He stayed there for a moment. He came out. He closed the door. He didn't notice how his breathing had deepened, nor did he realize that his hands were shaking slightly. Tatsuha simply leaned against the door and closed his eyes, tilting his head back and willed himself to relax until the shaking stopped.

'He didn't come back.' Tatsuha didn't know how he felt about that. His emotions concerning his former roommate were a chaotic mix of anger, sadness, and...he didn't know. What had been done to him...what Ryuichi had done to him...Tatsuha pushed that thought out of his mind. He didn't need to think about that now. Ryuichi was gone. Tatsuha doubted he would come back.

'I..' Tatsuha's thoughts were jumbled, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of himself. 'I'm thirsty.' Mechanically, almost hollowly, he pushed himself away from the door and went to the kitchen to make tea, his mind almost shut off as he went through the motions, the tea he finally drank tasting more like hot water than it should.

Tatsuha had never felt quite so alone in his life.

He'd also never felt quite so broken.

---

'This is probably the stupidest thing I've ever done.' Ryuichi decided, as he used his key to unlock the front door of the apartment building. 'I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be talking to him. I should just get as far away from him as I can.'

He thought about the fear in Tatsuha's eyes when he'd pinned him. He thought about the rage that had burned in them when he'd told him what he was going to do. He thought about the tears that had fallen from them when he'd tortured him. He thought about how Tatsuha had struggled...

'But I can't let him go.' Ryuichi whispered to himself in his mind. 'I need him...I need to see him. I need to see that look in his eyes, at least one more time before I damn myself to an eternity without him.'

Ryuichi thought about that look, about the way rage had given way to lust, however reluctant it was. He thought about how Tatsuha's lips, so firmly pressed together in an attempt to deny Ryuichi what he wanted, had finally yielded, softening enough to let Ryuichi in. He thought about how Tatsuha's skin had felt under him hands and fingers, how it had tasted on his tongue. Ryuichi thought about what taking Tatsuha had felt like, and decided there wasn't anything in the world more precious than the human painter who had somehow made him feel alive, even if just for a short time.

So he was pressing the buzzer at the door of Tatsuha's apartment, viciously shoving back his nervousness as he heard Tatsuha's footsteps as he hurried to open the door, not knowing who was on the other side of it. And he was forcing his breathing to remain regular as the door swung open and the welcoming smile on Tatsuha's face gradually drained away, until all that was left was a frozen expression of disbelief, until all that Tatsuha did was stand transfixed in his own doorway, staring at someone he thought would never come back.

---

'Why is he here!' Tatsuha screamed internally, panicking inside as he tried to release his tight grip on the front door enough to slam it in Ryuichi's face. 'I don't want him here! I want him to go away! Far away!' He struggled with himself for a moment. 'Damnit! Why can't I move? I didn't want to see him again. Not...so soon.'

Ryuichi looked...good. Tatsuha groaned inwardly at the traitorous thought. It had been about a month since he'd seen the demon and he really hadn't changed all that much. Although, Tatsuha frowned, he wouldn't have changed since he was extremely old and...This was not relevant to his current situation. It had been about five minutes since he'd opened the door, and neither of them had moved or even attempted to say anything. Tatsuha was beginning to get angry. He didn't know why Ryuichi was here or what the demon hoped to accomplish, but he was mistaken if he thought Tatsuha would play his stupid games.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, and was pleased to hear his voice sound cold, with a chilly calmness that he recognized as being an imitation of his brother's usual tone. 'Thank God for aniki and his ice bitchiness.'

"-neighborhood and decided to drop in." Tatsuha started a bit when he realized Ryuichi had started to answer him. He stared at him dumbly for a moment until Ryuichi's non-expression twisted into something more closely resembling his old smirk. "Are you going to let me in? Or are you too busy staring at me? I knew I was pretty but..." He trailed off and stepped closer to Tatsuha, smirking viciously as he blanched, and deliberately brushed against him as he passed into the apartment.

"You never really answered my question." Tatsuha glared at Ryuichi's back as the demon strolled into the kitchen and opened the fridge, searching for something to drink.

"I think you'll find that I did." Ryuichi smirked at him as he popped the top of a can of "Beer Tatsuha? I didn't think you were the type."

"I'm not." Tatsuha snapped. "That's one of yours." Ryuichi simply nodded, taking a sip from the can, his eyes never leaving Tatsuha's form. The tension grew, thickening oppressively until Tatsuha found it hard to breathe. He broke their eye contact, glaring darkly at the countertop and the half-full tea cup sitting unobstrusively on it.

"Hm...that must be true." Tatsuha gave him a startled glance. "Nothing really seems to have changed since I've been gone." His smile was razor sharp. "You haven't been back for a while either, have you?" The expression in his eyes was dark, amused, and challenging, and Tatsuha felt part of him rise to meet that challenge as his chest constricted with blazing hot rage. In two strides he was across the room, snatching the can from Ryuichi's hands and throwing it into the sink, his hand fastening onto Ryuichi's sleeve, dragging the strangely unresisting demon out of the kitchen and to the front hall.

"Leave now." Tatsuha hissed venomously. "Get out of my apartment. I don't want you here." His eyes met Ryuichi's, burning with anger. The demon smirked, seemingly not affected in the least by Tatsuha's show of fury. This only served to further enrage the painter, who practically threw Ryuichi against the door. "I don't know what you want from me, but I'm sick of your stupidity. Do you honestly think you'd be welcome now! After everything? I shouldn't even have let you in! You stupid greedy bastard! Get out!" His voice rose sharply into a despairing shriek. "Get the hell out! I don't know what you want from me, but you're not getting it you asshole!" Ryuichi was watching him calmly now, all traces of the smirk gone, his expression serious.

"I think I always wanted to see you like this." Ryuichi's quiet words stunned Tatsuha into silence, his mouth open in surprise. "You know I didn't even know what I wanted in coming here...I just wanted to see this face." His hand came up to softly brush against Tatsuha's cheek, who flinched back slightly upon contact. "You haunt me you know...I felt that I needed you somehow...maybe I just needed to see you again, maybe just touch you again...my precious, unique Tatsuha...you don't know what you've done to me...or how much it hurts me to see you so unhappy." He stepped closer to him, one arm winding around Tatsuha's waist, one around his neck, gently tugging his head down.

"I just want you." Ryuichi murmured against Tatsuha's lips, and brought their mouths firmly together.

They stood there for a long time, Tatsuha, frozen in shock, not resisting the soft pressure of Ryuichi's mouth slanted possessively across his own, unmoving, even when Ryuichi's tongue pressed against his lips and slid past them into his mouth. They stood, pressed tightly against eachother, strangely still, the kiss soft and gentle despite the desperate passion and longing thrumming through them both.

Their mouths parted softly. Tatsuha's eyes, which had closed sometime during the kiss, drifted open to stare blankly at Ryuichi, a mix of wonder, confusion, and heartbreaking vulnerability in them, which Ryuichi felt, must mirror his own almost perfectly. They stared at eachother for a while, until Tatsuha seemed to realize what was happening and roughly shoved Ryuichi away, his eyes now also filled with anger. Ryuichi stumbled back against the door, wordlessly still staring at Tatsuha, who was raising a trembling hand to his lips, rage, confusion, and that same vulnerable emotion starkly easy to read on his face.

"Get out." Tatsuha whispered harshly. "I don't want this. I don't want to play these games anymore. Just leave me alone!" Ryuichi observed him for a long moment, not saying anything, even when Tatsuha glared harshly, and snarled angrily. "Leave!"

"Alright." Ryuichi carefully put on his shoes, opening the door and closing it behind him, the quiet click of it shutting strangely loud in the stillness of the apartment. Tatsuha watched the door for a long time after he'd gone, finally sinking down onto the floor, still staring blankly ahead, as if he couldn't believe what had happened.

He would never forget the feel of his lips, Ryuichi promised himself. He would never forget the look in his eyes. Ryuichi knew Tatsuha now, knew everything from the way Tatsuha's eyes lit up like black flame when he was angry, to the way his body trembled just a little when Ryuichi's arms slid around him. He knew everything about how their bodies fit together when they kissed, how Tatsuha had relaxed against him for those precious moments, until he'd realized what he should have been feeling, and ignored what he was.

"You do care about me." Ryuichi's fingers stroked his lower lip reflexively. "I know you do, and even if you think I'm just playing a game, I care about you too. And I'll show you." His mouth firmed into a determined frown. "I'll show you that I love you, and I'll make you love me too."

-  
Tsuzuku


	9. Chapter 8

Ru: So...chapter 8 now...I'm starting to get into this story again I guess...since Percephone helped me think of plot. We'll see how this goes.

Rui: Shut up.

Ru: Oh that's a wonderful insult.

Rui: Shut it. I feel like I have a hangover...even though I don't drink.

Ru: Wonderful! So you won't mind if I cue the marching band.

Rui: Die.

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary now? I do not own any of these characters and I do not own the plot. Any song lyrics are from "Prediliction". Don't sue me...I have no money.

Warning: Again...if you don't get it by now...have you read the other chapters? Here be Shounen ai/yaoi and rampant OOCness. Ryuichi is also a bit...well...creepy now, but I do so love him anyway. There is also some K/Sakano in this chapter. I am completely unrepentant. I have read some nice fics for this pairing and I like it, despite the fact that K is married in the manga. While I don't support cheating at all...I'm ignoring the wife and kid and living obliviously in the anime universe. :p

Besides this is an AU. So there. If you object to anything in this story then don't read it. I have no time for flames.

Note:"…" spoken words

'…' thoughts

---

Demon Ring

Chapter Eight

---

"It's too early..." Tatsuha sighed and rolled over in bed, dragging the covers over his head to block out the light coming in through the open window. The alarm clock by his bed didn't listen to him, continuing to shriek a nameless pop song until, groaning in defeat, Tatsuha leaned over and switched it off.

"Too early..." he moaned and, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, padded to the bathroom for his morning shower.

It took over thirty minutes before he noticed the single rose on his kitchen table, a small card attached to it.

Swallowing, Tatsuha gingerly grasped the flower by the stem and gently pulled the card off, opening it to see what it said.

_can't get enough kanashige na kao kara_

_don't let me down itami sae fukuetara_

_one more night junsui na ai dake_

_tookunai mirai kanaeru sa_

_(Can't get enoughIf I could wipe even the pain_

_Don't let me down From your sad face_

_One more nightOnly pure love_

_Would be granted in the near future)_

There was no signature, but he knew who had left it. The card crumpled in his clenched fist, the edge cutting lightly into his skin. It was not the first gift, nor did he think it would be the last.

The creased note was tossed into the garbage can. The rose...Tatsuha hesitated, turning the flower over in his hand, feeling the crimson velvet of the petals stroke over his fingers and the brittle bite of the thorns scratch into his hands. The rose joined the others in the small glass vase on the kitchen counter, the most recent in a bunch of nine.

"Nine..." Tatsuha hesitated again, sighed, and counted the roses. It was nine, and he wondered, through the sudden tightness in his chest, whether he should be worried that he had known that without counting.

Of course he should be worried. He should stop this, or try to stop it. He should change the locks at least. Whatever Ryu-that person's powers were, Tatsuha hadn't seen any evidence that suggested he was capable of entering a locked apartment without the necessary key.

'Which he currently has.' Tatsuha thought angrily. 'What kind of idiot am I to keep the old locks when I know he has the key to them? I'm just inviting him in. Just inviting him to-'

Hands sliding over his skin, mouth twisted into an ugly sneer one moment, sucking the breath out of him the next, eyes staring deep into his own, staring through him, mocking him and consuming him all at once in vibrant blue fire, lips not moving but the words behind them so clear...

I own you.

And a newer, fresher memory: Those same hands holding him close, arms cradling him protectively as those lips, no longer sneering, curved possessively over his own, gentle and sweet, and then those eyes staring into his own, calm and caring and maybe a bit confused, lips parting to say words he'd never imagined...

I felt that I needed you somehow...don't know what you've done to me...I just want you.

I just want you.

And Tatsuha had felt so cared for and so safe, held in his arms but not locked there, not owned but maybe cherished. For a moment he'd felt as if maybe Ryu-that person might really, could possibly lo-

The sound of the vase breaking in the sink was hideously loud, and Tatsuha stared at the mess of glass, water, and cut flowers, his eyes wild.

It was wrong. It was too wrong. That person would never feel that way. He couldn't. He'd proven it. Tatsuha's hand drifted to his throat, pressing down on the two slight ridges of scar tissue, knowing what had put them there, silently replaying the event in his mind.

"I'll never be yours." He was relieved when his voice didn't shake, the words sounding as decisive as they could.

"Never." Biting his lip raw, Tatsuha carefully picked all nine of the roses out of the sink, shaking them free of any shards of glass still clinging to them. Hating himself for it, but still unable to stop, Tatsuha found another vase in his cupboards and, after filling it with water, almost reverently placed the nine roses in it before turning to the mess in the sink.

"Never."

--

Ryuichi sighed, chewing idly on Kumagorou's ear as he watched Tohma talk briefly to Sakano, later watching the producer suffer what looked like a nervous breakdown in front of the group he was producing. The panicking brunette was slightly amusing, he supposed, but Ryuichi wasn't sure why Tohma felt it necessary to intimidate the poor man every time he saw him.

"So Shachou said that Shindou-kun must have his lyrics written by Friday at the latest and-" he paused suddenly "K-san, I don't think that pointing that at Shindou-kun will result in him writing the lyrics any faster." K, the Magnum still in his hand, laughed and drew a protesting Sakano into his arms.

"AH my dear Sakano-san if you wanted my attention you only had to say!" This statement resulted in Sakano's face imitating a tomato and Shuichi deciding to, foolishly in Ryuichi's opinion, jump to Sakano's defense. Ryuichi found himself morbidly fascinated with the resulting mayhem.

It was only much later that Bad Luck managed to, through both the strategic use of Sakano's hysterics and K's Magnum, enter the recording studio, leaving Ryuichi alone for the rest of the afternoon.

Ryuichi had been working at NG for three weeks. Tohma had only had to hear him sing once to realize the potential he had. Now, Ryuichi found himself working as the lead singer in a three person group which included a sweet girl named Noriko and Tohma himself, a move that, Sakano informed him, had resulted in shockwaves travelling through NG Studios.

The three of them made up Nittle Grasper, the newest group NG would promote. For the past few weeks, all they'd been doing was working on song lyrics for their album.

Ryuichi loved it.

Finally, he was doing something he enjoyed. Writing lyrics and singing the songs he'd written were wonderful experiences, especially when he had such lovely inspiration.

Speaking of inspiration, his thoughts drifted to this morning, when he had watched Tatsuha's discovery of one more gift, when he'd seen him break the vase holding the nine roses Ryuichi had left for him, and when he'd seen him carefully put them back in their place.

Ryuichi went back every morning to leave a new flower and a new message, always one he'd written himself. They were all lyrics intended for his music, but most of all intended for Tatsuha, who still seemed determined to deny what Ryuichi had realized so long ago.

"I do love you." He whispered and humming softly to himself, pulled out the small notebook he used to write lyrics, mostly lyrics about the boy he loved.

Ryuichi smiled to himself and absently began to sing.

"Can't get enough kanashige na kao kara/don't let me down itami sae fukuetara/one more night junsui na ai dake/tookunai mirai kanaeru sa."

_Can't get enoughIf I could wipe even the pain_

_Don't let me down From your sad face_

_One more night Only pure love_

_Would be granted in the near future_

As the familiar words fell from his lips, Ryuichi felt something unclench in his chest. Thinking about Tatsuha was so easy, picturing him was easier. Tatsuha was beautiful. Tatsuha was his everything. And Tatsuha would be his.

Being so secure in that knowledge meant that Ryuichi didn't mind having to wait just a little longer till the pretty painter figured that out.

But maybe...maybe more of a direct approach was necessary.

--

Japanese pop music blared loudly through the apartment. Tatsuha sighed and stretched, leaning over to switch the alarm off. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he staggered to the bathroom for a shower.

Humming quietly to himself, the song from the demo CD Mika had brought him stuck in his head, Tatsuha went into the kitchen to make coffee. He decided to ignore the 'gift' that had been left for him on the table. He knew what it was anyway. He was feeling a bit too tired to deal with it right away.

The buzzer rang, and Tatsuha moved to answer it, only briefly hesitating before opening the door. His sigh of relief caught in his throat when he found both Shuichi and his brother standing outside his door, the latter glaring coldly at him.

"Tatsuha!" Shuichi's face, however, lit up at the sight of him, causing Tatsuha to once again doubt his sanity.

"What took you so long brat?" Tatsuha rolled his eyes at the question, stepping aside to let the pair into the apartment. Eiri continued to glare at him as he brushed past, but the look was softer, somehow, than the one he would get when his brother was really irritated, so Tatsuha didn't pay any attention to it.

"So, to what do I owe the honour of your presence?" Tatsuha asked wryly, mildly concerned at Eiri's sudden smirk and the blossoming of an expression of manic cheerfulness on Shuichi's face.

"We're having a concert!" Shuichi yelled, and Tatsuha suddenly understood why Eiri was there as he watched the smirk grow.

'The bastard...' He thought and sighed inwardly, because really, now he'd be expected to show interest in the event and he somehow couldn't bring himself to care too much, especially with the present waiting for him on his kitchen table. The knowledge that he still couldn't stop thinking about that person made him scowl inside, but Tatsuha decided he should at least pretend to be excited, or risk his brother's wrath for hurting Shuichi's feelings.

"That's great Shuichi. When is it?" The pink haired singer beamed up at him.

"It's at the end of next week! We're doing the concert with Tohma's new group, you know, the one he decided to play in himself. They're really good so everyone thought it would be better to do a joint concert instead of just having them open for someone and I agree! They're incredible and their vocalist is amazing! I bet that you'd really like them Tatsuha!"

Tatsuha stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, amazed at the speed at which the words had come out of Shuichi's mouth. Finally, he smiled again and opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off again.

"You'll come to the concert right Tatsuha?" Shuichi suddenly looked slightly apprehensive, "It's just...I really think you would like it, since you do listen to Bad Luck and since Nittle Grasper's music is sort of similar...Mika-san also mentioned that she gave you their demo and you liked it so I thought it would be fun..." Tatsuha nodded absently, suddenly aware of his brother's scrutiny. Scowling, he glared at him until Eiri's lips quirked into a strange mix of a smirk and a smile and he looked away.

"So you'll come right?" He jerked his head back to Shuichi, who was watching him anxiously.

"Sure." The smile was more genuine this time. "But you're going to pay if I get bored Shuichi."

Shuichi let out a whoop of delight, bounding across the room into Eiri's arms. Happily, he kissed him briefly before bounding into the kitchen, saying something over his shoulder about calling to get him tickets.

"You'd better go now that you've said you will." Tatsuha jerked in surprise, turning to stare at his brother, who calmly lit a new cigarette and met his gaze. "When's the last time you went out?" Tatsuha almost laughed, but the tone of voice his brother used made him pause.

"Are you serious?" He asked incredulously. Eiri just watched him for a moment and then sighed.

"If you don't show up then that idiot will complain like hell for a week." Tatsuha eyed him narrowly.

'He was serious.' He thought, and grinned at his brother, who only raised one eyebrow in silent query.

"If I'd known all it would take was Shuichi to make you so completely whipped..." He trailed off as Eiri kicked up his glare a notch and the grin softened into a smile. "I won't cancel aniki. I promise."

Eiri didn't say anything, but Tatsuha felt like he understood, and when Shuichi came back from the other room, there was no indication from either sibling that the exchange had taken place.

"Tatsuha..." He looked up at the strange tone to Shuichi's voice.

"What is it?" He frowned at the expression on Shuichi's face, a strange mix of confusion, cheerfulness, and something that probably meant the vocalist wasn't happy.

"I was going to call K to make sure we got tickets for you...but you already had one on your kitchen table." His smile was slightly strained. "If you already knew about the concert you only had to say. I wouldn't have minded if you-"

"I didn't know." Tatsuha suddenly felt a sense of foreboding twist inside his stomach. "I mean...this was the first I'd heard of a concert. Mika gave me the CD, but not a ticket..."

"Well...it's possible it was a gift." Shuichi's words were like a knife stabbing into his gut. "I mean, there was a rose with a card attached to it. The ticket was inside." He stopped at the expression on Tatsuha's face. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Tatsuha suddenly felt like he was underwater, his breath catching unpleasantly in the back of his throat. He couldn't breathe properly, he couldn't see clearly, and it was hard to hear over the sudden roaring in his ears.

'What the hell-how could he possibly...' Ignoring Shuichi's solicitous words and his brother's concerned stares, Tatsuha stumbled to the kitchen, sitting abruptly when he saw what Shuichi had seen, the rose, the note, and now, lying innocuously on the table, one small rectangle of paper cardboard identifying it as a ticket to the joint concert between Bad Luck and Nittle Grasper.

Trembling ever so slightly, Tatsuha opened the note, reading the words for the first time.

_/Tatsuha,_

_I wanted to see you again, to prove to you what I feel for you, to show you what you are to me. Maybe I hurt you too much for you to just forgive, to just believe what is true. I love you. I want you. Please, come listen to me, watch me. Let me show you what you mean to me._

_Ryuichi/_

And then, the customary lyrics, this time with a message Tatsuha didn't really want to hear.

_Can't get enough kotoba yori mo motto _

_Don't let me down tashika ni misete hoshii _

_One more night suka ni kizutsuita _

_kimi ga mitsumeru me sono saki ni _

_(Can't get enough More than words, I want_

_Don't let me down To show you more surely_

_One more night The eyes that watch_

_You who are faintly wounded, from that point...)_

Ryuichi had signed it this time and had actually written a short letter, Tatsuha realized suddenly, and the bitterness that had welled up inside when he had first read the card began to recede.

"Tatsuha?" He looked up to see Shuichi and Eiri staring at him. They looked worried, even his brother was watching him with something more than his usual ice princess expression on his face. "Are you ok?" Tatsuha took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before smiling at them and answering.

"I'm fine." He noticed Eiri's eyes narrow. "I'm serious. I'm fine. I just-I forgot that my...my friend brought over these things before and...he never mentioned the ticket so it was a bit of a surprise. But I'm fine. Really." Shuichi still looked unconvinced, but nodded, seemingly willing to let it go, even though it was obvious that whatever the person who had brought the ticket was, they weren't just Tatsuha's friend.

"Alright, well...I'm glad you're coming Tatsuha...even if I don't get to give you the ticket!" He smiled sweetly, and Tatsuha returned it shakily, trying to avoid looking at his brother. Eiri was still watching him narrowly, an expression of cold disbelief on his face. Tatsuha got the distinct impression he wasn't buying his story at all.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Eiri had been perfectly content to ignore him before and Tatsuha had been fine with that, even if it had hurt at first. Now though...now Eiri seemed like he really wanted to know what was going on...and Tatsuha had a secret he didn't think he wanted his brother to know.

--

Ryuichi was not in a good mood. Everything was moving much more slowly than anticipated and Tatsuha was not responding the way that he wanted. He'd delivered the ticket and he knew Tatsuha was going, Shuichi had been instrumental in ensuring that, but now he wasn't sure what to do except wait.

Ryuichi wasn't good at waiting.

He knew Tatsuha cared for him and he knew the painter wanted him. The kiss they had shared told him that. He knew that they could be happy, but Ryuichi wasn't sure that he had the right to experience that kind of happiness with Tatsuha. After all, he'd hurt him. He loved him but caused him pain. Maybe, after everything he'd done, Ryuichi didn't have the right to force Tatsuha to face the feelings he had for him.

"No, stop it K-san." Ryuichi was shaken from his melancholy by the breathless sound from the next hallway. Silently, he made his way over and peered around the corner. "Someone will see us." Sakano, his slender form pressed back into the wall by K's larger frame, pushed ineffectually at the other man's shoulders. K, smiling indulgently and more than a little wickedly, gently gripped the back of the producer's head, tugging it back by his hair as he stole Sakano's glasses with his other hand.

"Does it matter?" K practically purred as he lowered his mouth to Sakano's ear, nipping it so that the producer arched into him, gasping and flushing in a way Ryuichi had never imagined the alternately serious or spastic man could manage. "Anyone watching will only know that you're beautiful," he pressed a kiss to Sakano's throat "responsive," he licked lightly at his mouth "and all mine." K kissed Sakano hungrily, pulling the smaller man's body up into his own, and sliding one leg up between his legs so that Sakano cried out into his mouth.

When K finally released him, Sakano sagged into the wall behind him gasping for breath, looking flushed and dishevelled in a way that Ryuichi was sure would excite him more if he weren't wishing Tatsuha and he could share the same kind of moment and that Tatsuha was the one gasping for breath after participating in what had definitely been a completely consensual kiss.

"K-san..." Ryuichi's heart clenched at the sweet, innocently lustful, and loving look the small producer was giving the larger American. To his surprise, K leaned forward and gently brushed Sakano's bangs from his face, kissing him chastely on the forehead.

"I know. You have to meet Tohma about the new album soon and I have to make sure Shuichi doesn't skip out early to meet that damn writer." His gentle smile took on a wicked twist and he leaned in closer, whispering words into Sakano's ear that Ryuichi was sure he wouldn't have heard if he were human. "You're mine tonight though. I won't let you go." A possessive glint shone in his eyes at Sakano's slight nod and he kissed the slender man lightly on the lips before gently pushing him towards the other end of the hallway. With another sweet smile, Sakano walked away, nervously straightening his clothing and hair.

K watched him go until he was out of sight, something Ryuichi found strangely endearing, before turning around to walk in the opposite direction, putting Ryuichi directly in his line of sight.

"Oh." Ryuichi was slightly disturbed by the creepy smile that started to grow on the big American's face. "How long have you been there?"

"A while." Ryuichi wasn't afraid when K started smiling maniacally, he was quite capable of dealing with a violent K, but he felt that violence, although likely, was unnecessary and told him so. "I won't tell anyone."

"Why not?" K didn't sound suspicious so Ryuichi relaxed marginally. He was starting to feel a bit embarrassed, mostly because he wanted to ask so many questions. Questions about how K had managed to get Sakano to look at him like that, as if he were the centre of the producer's world, and how Ryuichi could ever get the one he loved to look at him the same way.

"I want to know what it means." Ryuichi paused, chewing thoughtfully at his lip. "If you care for someone like that...how do you let them know what you feel? How do you make them understand it's not a lie or a way to manipulate them?" K stared at him for a long moment until Ryuichi began to fidget under his gaze.

"When I knew I wanted him I cornered him in the studio when we were working late and threatened him with my Magnum until he told me the truth about how he felt for me."

"You can't be serious."

"He wouldn't tell me at first. He was afraid of what I would say or what I would do." K paused, smiling slightly at the memory. "He didn't believe me when I told him that I wanted him. He didn't see himself as someone that could be wanted that way. I had to do many things to convince him." He smirked and Ryuichi felt a little sorry for Sakano. "Many things."

"The person that I want" Ryuichi hesitated "I hurt him. Badly." K didn't say anything and encouraged, Ryuichi continued. "I didn't want to feel the way I did so I tried to deny it by hurting him, but it didn't work and now" his voice dropped to a whisper "now he might hate me and I want him so much that it burns inside of me, but there's so much I never said and so much that I did to him...I can try and try but he might never be able to accept me even though I know that he wants me at least a little bit." To his surprise Ryuichi felt his eyes sting with the beginning of tears. "Every time I see him I just want to hold onto him as tightly as I can, but I know he won't let me. Not so easily."

"Does he know what you want?" K's quiet question startled him into silence and Ryuichi stared at him, eyes wide. "I had to fight for Sakano to accept me. I fought and he finally accepted that I wanted him, that I wasn't just trying to get in his pants. For him, empty sex would never have been enough." He paused. "It might be the same for you. You may have to fight to convince him that you really want him, that you don't want to manipulate him. Show him that you what you feel is real and he might be able to forgive you for what you've done."

"I don't believe that I deserve to be forgiven." Ryuichi tightened his hold on Kumagorou and his teeth bit down hard on the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood in his mouth.

"That's the beauty of love and forgiveness." K said wryly. "It's not about what you deserve, it's about what the other person wants to give you. When I first approached Sakano, I nearly made him cry by pushing him too hard. I wanted him so desperately that I didn't think clearly about what I was doing to him, so long as I could have him. He tried to push me away afterwards. I wouldn't let him. Finally, he decided that he'd stop pushing. Now I have him and he has me."

"Was it worth it?" The coppery taste of the blood in his mouth was making him feel slightly ill, but Ryuichi ignored it, deciding that the sickness was necessary.

"I have him and he has me." K said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "That will always be worth it."

--

It was dark before Ryuichi moved from the roof of NG studios where he'd gone after K had left to find Shuichi. He lay on his back, staring up at the clouds still visible in the twilight. Soon he would have to go home, think of what to leave Tatsuha the next day, think of what to say.

"Can I really say 'I love you' so easily?" Ryuichi mused out loud. "Will you believe me?" He reached up to the sky, staring at the back of his hand. "How many times can the subject say it until the object of the emotion believes it?"

"Truth is never easy Ryuichi." He whispered. "Truth is not when I say I love you but when I say I want you." He frowned. "Or it was so long ago. But Tatsuha is nothing like she was. She lied when she told me those things and only when she gave me away did she tell me the truth. He isn't like that and I...I shouldn't be like her. Not to him." He brought his hand closer, staring at the palm and the small burn scar at its centre.

"Lying is when I told you that I hate you and when I made your blood burn like poison inside of you." He pressed his lips to the scar reverentially. "Truth is when I tell you I love you and promise my eternal protection and devotion. Truth is when I hold you close and soothe you when you cry, not when I cause your tears." The same hand reached again, and the scar seemed to glow in the twilight.

Tatsuha

"You are not what she was and I can trust you with my life."

---

Tsuzuku


End file.
